Burned and Restored
by When-Rabbit-Howls
Summary: *Full summary on profile*  ***CURRENTLY UNDER RECONSTRUCTION***
1. Ostracized

**Dearest Readers,**

**Please don't hurt me for starting another story when I already have 4 others in the works. ^^; In my defense, I'm not sure if I'm continuing "Wash Me Clean"…so there.**

**I hate losing ideas, so that's why I start a lot of stories and it takes me forever to finish them. ^^;**

***There's a few songs in here as well that I will tell you what they are at the end of the chapter they're in.**

***There are a lot of time lapses in the first part of the story, however, these lapses are necessary. It is because of these time lapses that may make the story seem like it's rushing…it's not, it's just that a lot of time…is passing in a short amount of time (if that makes sense).**

***Itachi is a little bit OOC**

***There's use of profanity**

***Includes Mpreg**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Ostracized**

All around the village, he was known for being lazy, unmotivated, and a genius. He knew he was all three things, so he didn't try to convince people otherwise…that would be too much work to do anyway. He heard what people in the village said about him, he wasn't deaf or stupid. They thought that he didn't know what they said about him, but he knows their opinions beyond his three most prominent characteristics.

One of the many things that people wonder about him is how can a genius be extremely lazy and unmotivated. It was one that he hears quite often and when the question is fired at him, he shrugs it off and returns to what he was doing before being interrupted. He knew why he was so lazy and unmotivated, but he didn't like talking about it. He also knew how he became to be as smart as he is…again, he didn't like talking about it.

He was walking through the center of the village like he usually does whenever he wanted to be around people, but not talk to them. He was passing by the ramen restaurant that they usually eat at and stopped when he heard his name.

"I just don't understand it," Ino was saying, "how can someone with a mind like Shikamaru's be the laziest person in the history of the world?"

"I don't know, but honestly…I'm getting kind of tired of trying to motivate him to do something. He's my best friend, but it's really annoying and frustrating when he doesn't want to do anything except look at the stupid sky." Choji said, taking a huge bite of ramen.

"If I had a brain like his, I would actually do something with it. Out of all the people who could be a genius, why did it have to be a lazy and unmotivated jackass?" Naruto said irritated, staring up at the ceiling mindlessly.

"We need to talk some sense into him; he needs to realize that he can't be this way anymore." Sakura added, looking at Ino's determined face.

"You know, if you think about it…" Kiba started, looking thoughtful.

"What is it?"

"Let's think about this for a minute. Why is it that Shikamaru is the only one out of all of us who became a Chunnin?" They thought about it for a moment and then it dawned on them.

"Because he's the smartest strategist…not the best ninja in skills." Ino said slowly, making the others realize what Kiba was implying.

"Exactly, so why have him be a ninja in our village if the only thing he can do is be smart? He can't really help defend our village; just provide ways on how to defend it. Let's face it, when it comes to skills and techniques…he's useless."

Shikamaru walked away at that point, his heart feeling heavy and his eyes growing wet. So that's what they truly think of him…his own friends and teammates think he's…useless. God, even Choji was against him. Choji gave up on him, Ino thinks that he's the laziest person to ever exist, and they all think he's useless. Kiba basically asked why should he be a ninja…why should he ever stay here.

He found himself at the top of his favorite hill to watch the clouds. _He doesn't want to do anything except stare at the stupid sky. _He felt a tear run down his at his supposed best friend's words. Unknown to anyone in the village, he's put up with a lot from them all. The insults, looks, everything…he never talks about his personal life…and no one has asked why.

The wheels in his head started to turn: why should he stay here? If his friends and teammates think he's useless…why bother staying around? He looked at the trees to his right; there were only two questions on his mind now: Where would he go? And would anyone even miss him?

**XXXXX**

He curled himself up at the corner of the couch with a notepad on his lap. Since he's going to leave, he might as well tell everyone his reason for leaving and his true feelings towards all of them. He wrote his words carefully, wanting them to see that he thought through this letter purposefully.

By the time he had finished the letter, it was dark outside. It was the perfect time to leave...all he had to do was pack and be on his way. He ripped the letter off of the notepad, folded it and placed it in his back pocket along with a tack to pin it against a tree at the training grounds.

He walked to his room and began to pack as many things as he could, only taking the things he really needed like clothes and medical supplies. After packing, he swung his bag onto his back and was about to leave when something caught his eye. It was a picture of his team and another one of all of them together, including their senseis. He dropped his bag onto his bed and pulled both pictures out of their frames and laid them on the nightstand, grabbing a pen from his desk. His dark eyes drifted over their faces, feeling his anger rise within him. If his friends and teammates felt the way they said earlier, chances are…the senseis did as well. He began to scribble out their faces angrily, making sure that the majority of their faces were covered in black scribbles. He grabbed two more tacks from his desk; he was going to hang these along with his letter on the tree before he left the village.

Making sure he had everything, he walked out of his room and turned off all the lights in the apartment, locked the door and left…and didn't look back. He made it to the training grounds in record time and he stood in front of the tree that they always meet at before they begin their training for the day. He pulled the tacks, letter, and pictures out of his pocket and pinned them to the tree, knowing that they would see them.

He removed his hair tie, his dark hair brushing against his shoulders slightly. He turned away from the tree and walked towards the woods in front of him. As he made it to the edge of the woods, he began to walk…not looking back at the village.

**XXXXX**

"Why do we have to meet an hour earlier than usual? Kakashi-Sensei won't be there!" Naruto whined as he walked towards the training grounds with his teammates and friends.

"I don't know, maybe the senseis felt like torturing us." Kiba yawned, scratching Akamaru behind the ears. It had become a routine for them: they would meet at the bridge every morning and walk to the training grounds together.

When they made it to the training grounds, they were surprised that Kakashi was actually there earlier. But then became worried at the concerned looks on their faces.

"Kakashi-Sensei…you're actually early." Naruto said, earning remorseful looks from Asuma, Kurenai, and Gai.

"What's wrong?" The senseis looked at each other, not sure how to break the news to them. Kakashi motioned for them to sit down, which they did, feeling their worry rise.

"Listen guys, we have something…difficult to tell you." Kakashi started, holding the letter and pictures in his hand.

"What is it?" Ino pressed, looking at him with shining eyes. Kakashi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Shikamaru left the village."

"What?" Ino and Choji shouted, jumping to their feet as Asuma stepped forward.

"Ino…Choji…I'm just as surprised by this as you are. However…he did leave a letter telling us why he left…and pictures." Asuma said as the senseis sat down with their students. Kakashi held up the pictures with black scribbles all over their faces. They stared dumbfounded at them.

"Why would he do that?" Ino asked quietly, her eyes growing wet.

"Let me read you what he had to say." Kakashi said, putting down the pictures and unfolding the letter. He took a deep breath and began to read.

_To whom ever is reading this:_

_As my words flow from this ink, I can't help but to think of how you've deceived me…how you've betrayed me. You will never understand the damage that you're betrayal has had on me…never. You will never understand why I'm lazy. You'll never understand why I'm unmotivated and you'll never understand how I began a genius, for I can assure you that I was not born with these characteristics. _

_You think that I don't hear what you say behind my back…but I hear many things. You think that I don't care, but I do. Your words…your actions hurt me…wound me in ways that I cannot explain. For years, you've strung me along with your pretty smiles and happy lies…waiting for the perfect time to make me fall. Now that I have fallen, are you satisfied with yourself? Are you proud? _

_I was stupid to believe that I could trust you to be my friends, comrades, teammates, and mentors. Again with your pretty smiles and happy lies, you lured me towards you only to push me to the ground and smile down at me with satisfaction, contentment, and happiness._

_For years I played your game; you made the rules and I obediently followed them. If one rule was broken, I was punished with harsh words. Around you, I'm a mere possession…only being used for my intelligence. You dehumanized me. However, I'm done with playing your game. I'm throwing the board back in your face and screaming at you to fuck the rules that you created. I am not longer your possession. I'm done. You tried to conform me, but I never wanted or needed to be one of you. _

_You say I'm useless. You say that I shouldn't stay. Now that I'm gone, are you happy now? I may be useless in your eyes…but if I was useless, then why have I been used more often than you? Why have people of high rank turned to me for ideas of what to do when away on a mission? I am not the one who is useless…it's you._

_I don't know where I'm going, but anywhere is better than here. Even though I doubt that you'll search for me, I'm telling you not to. How can you find me if even I don't know where I'll be?_

_~Shikamaru_

Kakashi folded the letter and looked up at them, seeing their wide eyed stares. Ino sniffed as her and the others started to feel guilty about their attitude towards Shikamaru. They were all to blame for his departure and they knew it. They didn't realize that their attitude towards him was that cold, but it seemed like it was too late to do anything about it.

"He…he won't come back…will he?" Ino asked quietly, looking at Asuma with glassy eyes.

"Honestly…I doubt he will. But like he said, we can't look for him if he doesn't know where he's going."

"There's another thing." Kakashi said, grabbing their attention. "There is one person we need to tell about this." They felt their hearts sink at who Kakashi was talking about: Tsunade.

"She's not going to take it well." Naruto said, knowing the Hokage's behavior very well.

"No, she's not. But she needs to know that her smartest strategist has left."

**XXXXX**

**Alright Gang, reviews would be awesome and appreciated.**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	2. Stay With Me

**Dearest Readers,**

**I honestly don't have anything to say up here…except for the fact that my day sucked. **

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Stay With Me**

He didn't know how long he's walked since leaving the village. The sun was rising and he walked without thought, going wherever his feet took him. They would've found his letter and pictures by now and he hoped that they had the effect that he wanted: to make them feel guilty.

Returning to his state of thoughtlessness, he didn't sense the presence of another person near him. The person's dark black eyes followed him, watching his every move. He looked familiar; when his eyes landed on the headband on Shikamaru's arm, it clicked: _he's from the Hidden Leaf Village and if the rumors are true, he may be the one who's said to be a genius._

Quietly, he moved from his place on a high tree branch and followed Shikamaru. He wasn't sure why he was interested in where this boy was going; it wasn't like him to feel curiosity or interest. However, he followed him; making sure to keep his presence unknown. He watched as the boy's shoulder length brown hair blew slightly in the gentle breeze. He couldn't help it as his dark eyes wondered over the boy's figure, taking in every detail. However, he wished he wasn't wearing a bag on his back.

Shikamaru stopped and at first, he thought that he had sensed him. But his attention was drawn to where the boy was looking at as well: there was someone else near them and by the sense of it…he was strong. He placed himself on a tree branch nearer to the boy, not understanding why he felt the need to protect him. _What the hell is wrong with me?_

"You're an awfully long way from home." A man's voice said as he stepped into the clearing, facing Shikamaru.

"That's a wonderful observation; can you tell me what color the sky is as well?" Shikamaru shot back sarcastically, making the man scowl. As he stood on the branch, he felt a smile grace his lips. _He's a sassy one. _

"Who the hell do you think you are?" The man growled, taking a step closer to Shikamaru.

"Look, Buddy. I don't know who you are and I really don't care. I don't feel like talking to you, so I'm leaving." He began to walk away, but the man threw a kunai, making it stick into a tree inches away from Shikamaru's chest. His dark eyes narrowed at the man…he looked familiar. He jumped quietly to a branch above the man's head, preparing himself for an attack.

"For a little punk, you do know how to boost your own ego." The man said, making a hand sign. Shikamaru sighed; he did not want to fight anyone.

Shikamaru briefly glanced to his left, seeing if there was a clearing that he could easily run to and then escape. He whipped his head back to the man as he let out a scream of pain. Shikamaru's brow furrowed in confusion as he saw that a kunai was stuck into the man's hands, pinning them together. _What the hell?_

He heard a rustling to his right and saw someone land gracefully in front of him. Shikamaru's eyes went wide as he stared at the person who came to his aid: Itachi Uchiha. The man turned his angry eyes towards Itachi, but then shock occupied his face. _Shit. _

"What are you doing here?" The man barked at the Uchiha, making him raise an eyebrow calmly.

"Why were you going to attack someone who wasn't doing anything to you?" He retorted calmly, his voice soft but threatening.

"I recognize him. He's from the Hidden Leaf Village, a rival of my own village."

"You were going to kill me because of where I lived?" Shikamaru asked, making Itachi smile slightly again.

"People like you need to die." The man growled.

For some unknown reason, Itachi felt his anger rise. He didn't even know this boy, but he felt drawn to him. This boy was an enigma to say the least…he seemed different than the people he usually encounters. His demeanor radiated him as being laid-back and uninterested in very few things, but Itachi had a feeling that there was so much more to him.

"You can both leave and leave this boy alone or I can make you leave…or die…which ever you prefer." Itachi said his voice deathly quiet.

"Just because you're a well known ninja doesn't mean that you can intimidate me."

"I killed my clan…what do you think I can do to you?" The man's eyes narrowed and glanced to the ground. He had a point; his eyes locked with Shikamaru's.

"You got lucky, Boy. If Uchiha didn't show up, you would've been dead a long time ago."

"I'm terrified." Shikamaru said in a monotone tone, making the man's glare deepen as he disappeared into the trees.

Itachi turned to look at the boy's face for the first time since he first saw him. He was barely able to keep his face as emotionless as possible as he stared at the boy. Dark eyes sparkled in the sunlight that came through the trees, his slender figure seemed to naturally seduce him, and skin as flawless as anything he's ever seen.

Shikamaru removed his bag from his back and sat down at the base of a tree, leaning against it. Itachi slowly took a few steps towards him, kneeling in front of him. Their eyes locked and both of them felt something stir within them that they've never felt before.

"Where are you heading?" Itachi asked, his voice returning to its soft and quiet tone.

"I'm not sure…anywhere except the Leaf Village."

"Why is that?" Shikamaru hesitated, not sure if he should tell him. But he felt something inside of him that drew him towards Itachi.

"Everyone didn't like the way I am and decided to lie to me about it. I had enough of it, so I left." Shikamaru said, remembering his friends' conversation in the restaurant. Itachi was surprised by this. _People didn't like him? Why?_

"Why don't they like you, Child?" Itachi asked, sitting on the ground in front of him. Shikamaru smiled lightly at being called 'Child'.

"They hate the fact that I'm a bit lazy and unmotivated. They say that I never use my full potential." Shikamaru said honestly, staring deep into Itachi's dark eyes.

"Well that's not a good reason to not like a person."

"You don't know them like I do…that kind of thing is normal for them. But I think the only one who doesn't really say nor do anything is Sas—" He stopped himself, not sure if bringing up Sasuke would make Itachi angry. He sensed Shikamaru's discomfort and smiled lightly, surprised at himself for expressing so much emotion.

"Sasuke." He finished his sentence, making Shikamaru nod.

"Sorry." Shikamaru mumbled, breaking eye contact.

"What are you sorry for, Child?" He smiled lightly again at the use of 'Child'.

"I shouldn't have brought him up."

"His name isn't taboo, Child. It's quite alright." Shikamaru looked back up at him, mesmerized by the darkness and mystery of him.

"He's still pissed at you by the way." They both chuckled lightly, Itachi eyeing Shikamaru carefully.

"What is your name, Child?"

"Well, I like the sound of 'Child'. But it's actually Shikamaru." Itachi chuckled lightly again.

"I shall use them interchangeably, how about that?" Shikamaru smiled at him, his eyes sparkling.

"I like that. What are you doing out here anyway?"

"There's only so much time one can spend in the same place with the same people. I needed to get away for a bit."

"I know the feeling." Shikamaru said, turning his gaze up at the sky and smiling slightly as he looked at the clouds.

"You enjoy nature." It wasn't a question and Shikamaru nodded slightly.

"I do, but nobody that I know enjoys it like I do."

"I enjoy nature very much, so now you know someone who enjoys it as well." Shikamaru laughed quietly and looked back at him again. _How can having a conversation with someone like Itachi be easy and pleasant?_

"How long have you been traveling?" Itachi asked after a few moments of silence.

"I'm not sure to be honest; a day or two maybe." Itachi bit the inside of his cheek gently, not sure if it was wise to ask his question.

"Do you wish to stay with me? The others aren't as bad as you may think." Shikamaru was very surprised by his question, but his eyes lit up slightly and his smile grew as well.

"Will they mind?"

"Of course not; however, I must warn you: they can be quite strange." Shikamaru laughed again, not understanding why he was drawn to Itachi or how he can get along with him so well. _He's not as bad as Sasuke and everyone else makes him sound._

"Will any of them hate me?"

"No, Child. I'm sure they will like you greatly. You're sassy…they like someone like that." Shikamaru felt his face grow warm, hoping that Itachi didn't notice.

"As long as no one will eat me or something along those lines, I'd love to stay with you."

"You don't have enough body mass to satisfy them even if they did try to eat you…they're animals when it comes to eating."

**XXXXX**

"What…the hell…do you mean…he left?" Tsunade said, anger radiating from her in a frightening amount. _Oh man…I knew she was going to be pissed. _Naruto thought as he stared at the angry blonde in front of him.

"He left a letter pinned to a tree telling us that he left the village and by the sounds of it…he's not planning on coming back." Asuma said, hoping that Tsunade wouldn't start shouting at them.

"You're mission is to search—"

"He said that even he doesn't know where he's going." Kakashi said, knowing that it was a bad idea to cut her off. However, he was surprised when she didn't shout at him.

"So let me get this straight: the village's best strategist left and he doesn't plan on coming back. Correct?" They nodded tentatively and Tsunade sighed, cradling her face in her hands. _Shikamaru…the village's best damn strategist left the village…and we can't search for him because he's not sure where he's going…wonderful._

"What should we do?" Ino asked, her voice shaking.

"There's nothing we can do. All we can do is hope that a ninja from our village comes across him when they're on a mission…that's it." They felt their hearts sink at the reality that she was right.

Shikamaru was gone…and he's not coming back.

**XXXXX**

"You live in a cave?" Shikamaru asked as they arrived at their destination.

"It's not a cave, Child. It's a base underground." Itachi corrected, making Shikamaru smile.

"Call it whatever you want…whatever helps you sleep at night."

"I don't sleep." Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"You always have to have the last word, don't you?"

"I do, Child." Itachi led them to the entrance to the Akatsuki base and made their way inside. After stepping on the 1,375th step, Shikamaru sighed.

"Seriously, what's with all the stairs?" Itachi chuckled just as they entered a large room that was dully lit by the fire crackling in the fireplace.

"Itachi…what's with the kid?" Kisame asked, extremely surprised that Itachi would bring someone to their base.

"What do you wish to be called, Child?" They stared wide eyed at him. _Child? What the hell has gotten into him?_

"'Shikamaru' is fine…I'm not picky." He said, not believing that he was in the hideout of Akatsuki, the criminal organization that all villages are against. Zetsu was eyeing Shikamaru carefully…his physical characteristics looked familiar.

"Are you from the Nara clan, Boy?" Zetsu asked, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Yeah…why?" Zetsu grinned and stood slowly, taking purposeful steps towards him. Itachi felt his protective instincts kick in as Zetsu got closer…why he was feeling protective, he didn't know.

"You're from the Leaf Village, yes?"

"Are we playing 20 questions? Because if we are, you only have 18 questions left to guess what I'm thinking." Shikamaru said, looking innocently at him. Itachi felt his lips curl slightly as Kisame let out a chuckle.

"I like this kid; I'm glad you brought him back here, Itachi." Kisame said, now standing by his partner.

"I thought that you and the others would like him." Itachi said calmly, his eyes roaming over Shikamaru's slender figure. _There's something about this kid that's making Itachi act differently; this kid must be something extremely special if he willingly brought him to our base without the intent of interrogating him. _Kisame thought as Shikamaru spoke.

"But to answer your question: yes, I am from the Leaf Village." Zetsu's grin widened…he knew of this boy.

"Shikamaru Nara…I've heard many things about you." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Nothing bad I hope." He said, tilting his head slightly to the right, making some of his hair fall into his eyes.

"Oh no, Boy, quite the opposite. From what I've heard…you have an unusually strong mind…many people consider you to be a genius." Deidara, Sasori, Hidan, and Kakuzu stared at them, even more intrigued by Shikamaru. _Genius, huh? Doesn't really look like one._

"Oh, don't make me blush." Shikamaru said lightly, smiling gently.

"It's true though…isn't it, Shikamaru?" Deidara asked from his place by the fireplace.

"Well, I think I'm smart…other people think I'm smart…so I guess I am."

"Have you ever taken an IQ test?" Zetsu pushed, knowing that they may have found a new member. Shikamaru looked thoughtfully for a moment, but then shrugged his shoulders lightly.

"Not that I can remember." He said simply, never knowing that Asuma really had given him one. Zetsu turned towards the other members behind him, knowing that they were thinking the same thing: depending on how smart Shikamaru really is…he's here to stay. He turned back towards Shikamaru, staring down at him.

"We're going to give you one." Shikamaru groaned softly.

"I hate tests…of any kind…especially when I have to think."

"But a person must always think when taking some kind of test, Shikamaru." Zetsu said, chuckling lightly as he turned away.

"Not always." Zetsu turned back towards him with a raised eyebrow.

"Such as?" Shikamaru sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Trust me, differential and integral calculus is not that difficult. Although, admittedly, differential is my forté." Even Itachi was showing a surprised expression on his face at Shikamaru's statement. _'Not that difficult'? I don't even know what those words mean! _Deidara thought as Itachi gently grabbed Shikamaru's elbow and led him towards the center of the room in front of a small table, indicating for him to sit. Shikamaru dropped his bag on the floor and flopped down ungracefully.

Itachi's eyes brushed over him, taking in every detail. After all this time, why has he started to feel something that was…unusual for him? He trained himself to become emotionless and unmerciful…how can one person destroy that without trying? Kisame eyed Itachi carefully, not understanding the change in his partner's behavior. _There's something about this boy that's influencing Itachi somehow…but what?_

Zetsu returned with a 1 ½ inch thick book and a pencil and placed both of them in front of Shikamaru, sitting with the others around the table. Shikamaru stared lazily at the box, really not wanting to take a test like this.

"This is the Advanced Progressive Matrices—"

"Shit Zetsu, why give him that one?" Kisame asked, the others also surprised by Zetsu's decision.

"What's the big deal?" Shikamaru asked, flipping open the book and staring at the black and white patterns on the pages. "What am I suppose to do?"

"It's quite simple really: all you have to do is find the item that completes the pattern. I'll give you 30 minutes to complete as many as you can. Understand?" Shikamaru sighed and picked up the pencil, twirling it between his fingers as he looked at the patterns in front of him.

They all eyed Shikamaru as he twirled the pencil between his fingers, his eyes darting around the page in front of him. They were surprised, but confused, when Shikamaru placed his left elbow on the table and rested the left side of his face against his hand. As they watched him carefully, Itachi knew why Kisame had asked why Zetsu had given Shikamaru the Advanced Progressive Matrices: not only was it one of the most popular IQ tests…it was also the hardest. The clock on the wall ticked loudly in the quiet room, mixing with the sound of the pencil writing across the pages. Zetsu glanced at the clock.

"You have—"

"15 minutes." Shikamaru finished, not taking his eyes off of the book, making another mark in the process.

Even Itachi's face expressed the look of surprise at Shikamaru's response. _How did he know how much time he has left if he's never looked away from the test once? _The same question was on their mind and they were surprised when Shikamaru covered a small yawn, but not looking away from the test.

The clock continued to tick and Shikamaru covered another small yawn, continuing to find the item that completed the pattern. _He looks…bored. _Itachi's dark eyes darted from Shikamaru's semi-bored expression to his steadily moving writing. Shikamaru released a deep sigh and dropped the pencil on the table, stretching his arms above him.

"What are—"

"30 minutes is up." He said, nodding towards the clock…he was right.

Zetsu eyed him carefully. _There's something different about this boy. _He pulled the book towards him and laid it next to the answer key and began to compare them. After a few minutes, the Akatsuki members noticed that he hadn't made one mark on the test yet. Zetsu's brow furrowed, not taking his eyes away from what he just looked over. He compared Shikamaru's score to what IQ he had and stopped. He circled Shikamaru's IQ, not sure if he graded the test correctly.

"How'd he do?" Kisame asked, breaking the silence. Zetsu locked eyes with Shikamaru from across the table.

"How old are you?" Shikamaru was surprised by his question.

"18, why?" _18? How can someone that young be this intelligent? Or for that matter, how can anyone be this intelligent?_

"I'm impressed to say the least." Zetsu said honestly, leaning back while receiving curious looks from the other members.

"Why's that?" Kisame said, knowing that he was going to drop a bombshell.

"I have another question for you," Zetsu continued, "when I was about to tell you how much time you had left…how did you know you had 15 minutes left?"

"Every minute has 60 seconds, right? You gave me 30 minutes, so that adds up to 1,800 seconds. Since that clock is so loud, I was counting the seconds that passed and every time I completed a minute I started over with the next minute…basically, I started at 1 then counted up to 60; when I reached the 2 minute mark, instead of thinking '1, 2, 3', I thought '2, 2, 3' so that I would know what minute I was on. I didn't want to count up to 1,800 because that would risk me losing count." They stared at him, not believing that an 18 year old could think with that kind of complexity and be able to multi-task at such an advanced level. "You never told me what I scored."

"Your IQ is over 200." Silence filled the room and Shikamaru's dark eyes darted between all of them.

"What's the big deal about being over 200?" Even Itachi gave him a wide eyed look, but not as much as the others.

"Do you not know the IQ scale?" Itachi asked quietly, making Shikamaru look at him shaking his head.

"No, I've never taken an IQ test until now so I didn't feel the need to enlighten myself with that knowledge." Itachi chuckled lightly, not breaking eye contact with him.

"The score to be considered a genius is 140." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"Really? I'm smarter than I thought I was." He said, smiling lightly. The others watched them, confused by Itachi's behavior. _Something is definitely wrong with him._

"Listen, Boy," Zetsu said, leaning against the table, "we could use someone of your intelligence around here. Since you seem to have left your village…why not stay with us?"

Shikamaru considered the question carefully, knowing that he had two options: take it or leave it. He knew that if he declined the offer, they would most likely kill him because he knew where they were. But he found that he actually wanted to stay here, even though he would technically be going against his own village. But he left that place behind…it's time for him to start over. He locked eyes with Zetsu, a mischievous gleam in them.

"I'll stay."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

They sat at their favorite restaurant, none of them having an appetite. It's been exactly one month today since Shikamaru's departure from the village. The guilt was still in them and they knew that it was here to stay.

"I miss him." Ino said quietly, stirring her ramen aimlessly making the others nod gently in agreement.

"Even if we have no idea where he is, I'm sure he's found a place to stay by now…wish we could go try to find him at least." Choji said, feeling an emptiness within him that he knew was the place that Shikamaru filled in him. Naruto blinked his bright blue eyes carefully, thinking about what Choji just said.

"What's preventing us?" He asked slowly, grabbing their attention.

"We need a little more detail, Naruto." Sakura said, but not with the usual edge in her voice.

"What's preventing us from looking for him? Granny-Tsunade didn't say we couldn't look for him, did she?" His words sunk in, making them realize that he was right. Ino's eyes became bright at the possibility of finding her teammate.

"Should we tell our senseis what we're going to do?" Ino asked, all of them nodding.

"Definitely, they'll want to help as well, I'm sure…especially Asuma-Sensei." Naruto said, standing quickly from his seat. He looked around at them with wide blue eyes. "What are you guys doing just sitting there? We have a friend to find!"

**ItachiXShikamaru**

"No." Tsunade said flatly, returning to her paperwork.

"Why?" Ino and Naruto screamed at the same time, being restrained by Kakashi and Asuma. Tsunade looked up at them, tapping a finger against her desk.

"Let's think about this: it's only been a month since he left, right? Have you ever thought that maybe he'll come back? Maybe he just needs space away from the village for a while? I've given it some thought, Naruto and Ino. Maybe Shikamaru will decide to come back on his own."

"But what if he doesn't?" Ino asked her eyes glassy.

"Remember this date because on this day two years from now, if Shikamaru's not back…then you'll get to go look for him."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

**Woo. **

**Alright Cherubs, reviews would be dandy.**


	3. Blossoming

**Dearest Readers,**

**There's a bit of a time lapse here…just as a heads-up.**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Blossoming**

In the 6 months that he's been with Akatsuki, he's found himself enjoying their company more and more. He did feel uneasy about a couple of them, but that's a very minor issue. As time passed, he became a lot closer to Itachi, basically spending every waking moment with him. He also realized that he was with Kisame and Deidara a bit as well, but he was with Itachi much more often.

He knew that they were capable of doing many destructive and terrible things, but he looked passed that and found that all members of Akatsuki were not as bad as he had been forced to believe. They were human and they had emotions…even though they try to hide them and they all had taken up Itachi's use of the word 'Child' when speaking to him and he found that he felt like a special, intricate part of the organization because of this pet name…but Deidara likes to call him 'Munchkin'. Even though he was the youngest, they didn't treat him too much differently than they do each other. Although, they do seem to be a bit kinder to him…in the sense that he wasn't threatened.

Even though he thought of the Leaf Village occasionally, he found that he didn't really miss it too much. He really enjoyed it here and he didn't want to go back to his old life. Whenever he would think of the village, he always chuckled a little bit. If someone from the village were to come across him, he bet that they would have to do a double take at him.

He changed his physical appearance a little bit…and he liked the change. His brown hair now hung around the middle part of his neck, parts of it falling into his dark eyes. A ring occupied his right index finger and he found that he had a habit of twirling it around his thin finger. It was discovered that the black cloak with red clouds didn't fit him in the slightest. He would always chuckle at the memory of it falling a good foot onto the floor and he couldn't see over the collar, even when given the smallest size. So they decided to dress him in black form-fitting pants and a fitting black halter top with red clouds…it was close enough. Shikamaru was so slim to the point where he couldn't even fit into the smallest clothes that they had. However, this inability to fit into one changed their perspectives about the cloaks and they decided to cast them aside and opt for what Shikamaru could fit in, except for a halter top…they went with a tank instead. After all…they wanted to wear the same thing so that they would be recognized when approached. His headband was now wrapped around his upper right leg, displaying the line that had been etched into it.

He doesn't regret leaving the village…at all. He felt wanted…useful being here with Akatsuki. He didn't want to go back to his old life…he couldn't.

A rustling of leaves behind him interrupted his thoughts and he turned, a smile spreading across his face as Itachi came to sit with him on the rock by the small lake. This was their favorite spot to sit and observe the nature around them. This was where they spent a lot of their time and this was the spot where they found that they've been growing closer to each other. The small lake was in front of them and the canopy of trees slightly revealed the clouds above them.

Shikamaru leaned back on his hands and closed his eyes as a breeze came and blew some of his hair into his face. Itachi watched him from the corner of his eye, marveling at the grace and innocence one person can possess. Ever since Shikamaru had been staying with them, he came to realize what he kept feeling every time he laid eyes on him. He realized why his heart fluttered at the sight of him, why he felt mesmerized by those dark eyes and enigma-like personality. He was feeling an emotion that he's never felt…one that he didn't want to feel…until now: love. When the word first entered his mind, he did his best to push it away, but it still came back. So he gave up and admitted it to himself: he fell in love.

Shikamaru let out a frightened yelp, jumping off of the rock and looking at it. Itachi gave him a questioning look, not letting on that he was startled by the sudden noise.

"What is it?" Itachi asked, not understanding why Shikamaru suddenly became frightened.

"There's…something over there…and it crawled on me." Itachi chuckled as he stood; walking behind the rock to see if he could find what Shikamaru was talking about. When he looked down, he shook his head with a light smile. He knelt down slowly, not wanting to scare the creature away.

"Did you find it?" Shikamaru asked as Itachi stood with a small white mouse in his hands. Shikamaru looked disgustedly at it as Itachi walked towards him. "Don't even think about it." Shikamaru said, taking a few steps back.

"You're afraid of mice?" Itachi asked, doing his best to keep the laughter from his voice.

"I'm not afraid of them…I just don't like them." Shikamaru said defensively, Itachi still walking closer. He sighed and locked eyes with him. "I'm not going to get away from this am I?"

"Of course not…just pet its head and then I'll let it go." Itachi held the small mouse in his hands, its small head peaking out from his fingers. Tentatively, Shikamaru reached out a finger and poked it on the head.

"I said 'pet' not 'poke'." Itachi said, smiling lightly. Shikamaru made a whining sound and brushed his finger across the mouse's head reluctantly.

"There, that wasn't so bad was it?" Itachi asked, kneeling down and releasing the mouse into the woods.

"That was gross."

"How was it gross?" They walked towards the lake and Itachi dipped his hands into the water, washing away the traces of the mouse that he held.

"It felt weird." When Itachi turned around after wiping his hands on his pants, he felt himself melt at the sight of Shikamaru pouting.

"Don't be such a baby." He said, sitting next to him again. Shikamaru turned to him, his eyes bright.

"Tell me something: what is the Great Itachi Uchiha afraid of?" He stared deep into Shikamaru's dark eyes, seeing the sparkle of mischievous inside them.

"I'm not afraid of anything." He said, trying to disguise one of his greatest fears.

"So if you're not afraid of anything, then that means the sun isn't hot, right?" Shikamaru asked jokingly, poking him gently in the side.

"I'm not getting out of this, am I?" Shikamaru shook his head.

"No way, now spill it." Itachi sighed and made eye contact with him again.

"I'm…a neat-freak…I get scared when things aren't organized." Shikamaru contained his laugh, not sure of how Itachi would reach if he laughed. "Go ahead." Shikamaru laughed next to him, not believing that Itachi was a neat-freak.

"That made my day; now I know that I need to make things relatively messy." He said, lightly hugging his arm, still laughing gently.

Itachi felt his heart stop as he felt Shikamaru hold onto his arm. He felt his soft hair against his arm and his slim fingers gently wrap themselves around his forearm. He stared at the top of Shikamaru's head as the Nara stared out at the lake. Shikamaru tightened his grip on his arm, laying his head on his shoulder.

He allowed his mind to wonder back to when Shikamaru first started staying with Akatsuki 6 months ago. He did his best to avoid the others' curious glances at him and Kisame's questions about Shikamaru, but he didn't want to avoid that any longer. Ever since Shikamaru arrived here, he felt himself become jealous and protective whenever he saw him being around Kisame, Deidara, or someone else. He didn't want to let him out of his sight for fear that someone would take him away from him. It was strange; he's never been this possessive of a person before…including Sasuke. But whenever Shikamaru was around another member of Akatsuki, he felt jealous…protective…possessive. He wanted Shikamaru to be his…and only his.

**ItachiXShikamaru**

The feeling of having Shikamaru holding onto him a week ago still lingered with him. He couldn't go to sleep that night, wanting to have the boy wrapped up in his arms…wanting to feel him against him again.

"You thinking about the boy?" A voice asked from behind him, making him turn. Kisame had emerged from a nearby room, evidently waiting to bump into him.

"What my thoughts consist of are none of your concern, Kisame." Itachi said coolly, continuing his walk. Kisame walked along side him, obviously not letting it go.

"What's up with you and the kid anyway? You've been…" Itachi looked at him from the corner of his eye.

"I've been what?"

"Well…different. Not a bad different, just…different." Itachi pondered this for a moment. Yes, he felt himself changing and he knew it was because of Shikamaru, but he couldn't confide that to Kisame. "Is anything going on—" Kisame was interrupted by a loud curse that came from the room just in front of them.

When they walked into the room, Itachi felt his heart flutter. Shikamaru was standing on his toes, reaching both arms above his head making his lower back and hips become visible as his shirt rode up. _What is he reaching for?_

"Damn it, Deidara. I'm going to kill you and make sure no one finds your body." Shikamaru hissed quietly, still trying to reach above the cabinet.

"What did Deidara do?" Itachi asked, making Shikamaru jump and turn sharply at them. Itachi felt himself become breathless at the sight of Shikamaru's sparkling eyes and slightly flushed face. Kisame saw Itachi's slight change in behavior at the sight of the boy in front of them. When Shikamaru turned back towards what he was doing, Kisame slowly and carefully left the room, leaving them alone.

"Deidara took something very special to me and threw it up here." Shikamaru said in a strained voice, trying to lengthen his body to reach what he was looking for.

Before he could think, Itachi walked forward, wrapped his arms around Shikamaru's upper legs and lifted him up. Shikamaru let out a yelp of surprise as he looked down at Itachi who was looking back up at him. He turned his attention back to what he was looking for and found it. Smiling, he leaned forward slightly and wrapped his fingers around the cool object. Carefully, Itachi lowered him back to the ground, his hands lingering on his hips for a short time before removing them reluctantly.

"What is it?" He asked and Shikamaru opened his hand and revealed a small light pink rose blossom attached to a thin silver chain.

"My mother used to wear it," Shikamaru said quietly, gently tucking it into his back pocket. "But I don't wear it."

"Why?"

"I don't want it to get broken." He said smiling lightly at him and turned to leave, but Itachi prevented him. He stared deep into his brown eyes, trying to find what he was hiding.

"What happened to her?" Shikamaru's eyes widened at the question and Itachi saw that they started to become glassy. He bit his lower lip gently and sniffed.

"She passed away about 6 years ago…my father's fault." He said quietly, trying to leave, but Itachi prevented him from doing so again. He gently pulled Shikamaru's arm, making him fall against his front. He held both of Shikamaru's wrists and brought their faces close together, their breaths lingering between them.

"What—" They heard footsteps come down the hallway and they stepped away from each other, Shikamaru wiping his eyes. Deidara popped his head into the room, smiling.

"Did you get it, Munchkin?"

"I did, but now it's dirty…thanks." Shikamaru said, pretending to be hurt; Deidara let out a bark of laughter.

"Hey, if you need someone to be a pain in the ass, just come find me." And with that, he left. Shikamaru looked down at the floor, running a hand through his hair. He walked towards to door, but Itachi didn't stop him this time. Shikamaru looked back at him.

"Are you coming?"

**ItachiXShikamaru**

The moonlight reflected off of the surface of the lake, casting a pale light around them. They sat on their favorite rock, silence falling between them. Itachi couldn't help noticing how close Shikamaru had sat down next to him, almost touching him. _Stop being a teenage girl._

"My parents were complete opposites." Shikamaru started, breaking the silence. "But they both had…some type…of personality disorder." Itachi's eyes widened slightly as he continued to look evenly at him.

"My father had Narcissistic Personality Disorder and my mother had Dependent Personality Disorder. So my father was extremely self-centered and my mother did everything he told her to…everything." He saw Shikamaru glare angrily in front of him, his eyes glassy.

"What did he make her do?" Shikamaru slowly turned his gaze towards him, anger now gone.

"He told her that there was one thing that she could do to truly make him happy and content." Shikamaru stopped, remembering the event vividly.

"The one thing that he told her would make him truly happy and content…was for her to die." Itachi felt his heart stop. _His father made his mother commit suicide?_

"And she did it…hung herself from a ceiling fan." He sniffed and Itachi wrapped an arm around his slim waist, pulling him towards him. Slowly, he ran his fingers through Shikamaru's hair, marveling at its softness.

He sniffed again, feeling Itachi next to him…holding him. He felt Itachi run his fingers through his hair again, enjoying the feel of it. This was the closest they've ever been to each other…this was the most intimate they've ever been with each other. He figured out a long time ago what the feeling that kept welling inside of him whenever he saw Itachi was: love. He denied it at first, but then he caved as he realized that it was true. He'd fallen in love…with Itachi Uchiha.

Itachi looked down at him, admiring the way his skin glowed in the moonlight. He ran his fingers through his hair one more time and carefully, he ran a finger down the side of Shikamaru's face. When Shikamaru looked up, their eyes locked and that feeling they both had began to suffocate them. Itachi brushed the hair away from his face slowly, his eyes searching his face. He felt Shikamaru's fingertips touch his jaw line and move towards his lips. He gently grabbed his hand and pulled them together.

He invaded Shikamaru's mouth as soon as his lips parted, taking in every crevice he could. Shikamaru tightly wrapped his arms around Itachi's neck, causing the Uchiha to lean over him. Propping himself up on one elbow, his other hand found its way underneath Shikamaru's shirt, holding his hip. He broke away from the kiss and began to lay light kisses along Shikamaru's jaw line and down his neck. Shikamaru moaned quietly as Itachi gently nipped at the sensitive skin on his neck, making Itachi come up and capture his lips again. The fight for dominance was won by Itachi and he took full advantage of what Shikamaru offered him, making the Nara moan into the kiss. Reluctantly, they parted panting slightly.

Shikamaru stared up at the man above him, not believing all the horrible things that the village and Sasuke has said about him. He knew that Itachi massacred his clan, but he now knew that there was a completely different side to him that he doesn't let anyone see…except him. Passion had poured from Itachi, threatening to drown him. The man above him loved…possibly…loved him. But knew that the feelings that have been circulating through him for the past 6 months have been love and passion for Itachi Uchiha.

**ItachiXShikamaru**

**I apologize for the shortness of the chapter, however,…it was necessary, yes?**

**Reviews would be dandy. ^_^**


	4. Discovery of a Hidden Gift

**Dearest Readers,**

**This chapter could be considered confusing…but I'll try to make it clear, I swear.**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Discovery of a Hidden Gift**

"How did you manage to persuade Itachi to let you leave the base without him?" Deidara asked as he and Shikamaru walked through the woods, making sure that no one was near the base before heading back.

"I told him that if he didn't let me leave then I would put everything out of place and make him leave it there for a week." They chuckled quietly, Deidara still having a hard time believing that Itachi had let someone into his life in an intimate way.

He remembered feeling his body freeze with surprise…and happiness…at the fact of Itachi finding someone like Shikamaru. The Uchiha wasn't one that expressed any kind of emotion…ever. But even when the Munchkin came a year ago, they all saw the change in him…it was very small at first, but it was there. Granted, he's still calm and quiet, but now he was showing some emotions that they never thought existed within him. But all the members of Akatsuki knew one thing for a fact: if any one of them made a move on Shikamaru…they would die.

When Deidara first met Itachi, he knew instantly that he was someone you shouldn't mess around with…ever. He, like the other members of Akatsuki, was under the impression that Itachi doesn't form bonds with people…at all. Not with them and not even his clan, but somehow…Shikamaru changed that. He knew that when Itachi first brought Shikamaru to the base a year ago…things would change…for Itachi anyway. No one understood how the boy is able to impact the Uchiha in such a way…without even trying. He knew that something would happen between Itachi and Shikamaru…he and Kisame talked about it frequently, but ever since they found out about their relationship 6 months ago…his mind was frequently occupied with confusion and wonder.

"De-id-ar-a," Shikamaru said slowly, grabbing his attention. The blonde turned towards him.

"Yes, Munchkin?"

"Were you ignoring me or were you in La-La Land?"

"I'm sorry, Munchkin, but La-La Land is where the party's at." Shikamaru rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly, a small smile on his lips.

Silence fell between them, carefully observing their surroundings. Deidara's ears perked when the silence was broken by a soft humming sound. He looked over at Shikamaru from the corner of his eye and relaxed: Shikamaru was just humming some kind of song. As he tuned in, trying to see if he could guess what he was humming, he felt a strange feeling come over him. He couldn't explain it, but it felt like his chest was being pulled away from his body towards the sky. _What is this? _His heart began to ache with a feeling that he's always tried to repress: emptiness. But when Shikamaru stopped humming, those physical feelings went away, including the emptiness. He turned towards Shikamaru, confusion on his face. His confusion mounted when he saw a gentle smile on the boy's face, seeming unaware of the feelings that he inflicted on him.

"How did you do that?" Deidara asked him, grabbing his attention and earning a confused look.

"Do what?" _He…he doesn't know?_

"N-nothing," he said, "let's head back. We've stayed out here long enough." Shikamaru nodded tentatively. _What's wrong with him?_

"Alright…are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't you worry about me, Munchkin."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

When they made it back to the base, Shikamaru went to his bedroom…his bed had been calling him all day. Meanwhile, Deidara went on the search for Itachi, hoping to get an answer for his question. He finally found him in the one room that was above the ground along with Kisame.

"Itachi, I need to ask you something." He said, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. Itachi raised an eyebrow in curiosity…Deidara wasn't the kind of person who would seek any kind of advice…if that's what he is looking for.

"Yes?"

"Does Shikamaru…hum when he's around you?" Itachi's curiosity was now mixed with confusion. _Does Shikamaru hum? Why would he ask something like that?_

"That's a bizarre question, Deidara, even for you." Kisame said from his place by the window next to Itachi.

"Does Shikamaru hum? No, not that I can remember; why do you ask?" Deidara considered his response carefully.

"When we were walking through the woods tonight, he started to hum and…something…happened."

"What is this 'something'?" Itachi asked, leaning forward slightly in his chair, concerned.

"I don't know how to explain it, but…a weird feeling came over me when he started humming and when he stopped…the feeling stopped." Itachi's brow furrowed slightly in confusion. _How can humming effect someone in a physical way?_

"I'll see if I can get him to do it tomorrow…that's rather bizarre that something like that would happen."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

"Morning." Shikamaru said as he felt Itachi wrap his arms around his waist and nuzzle his neck.

"Good morning, Child. Come with me." He gently grabbed Shikamaru's hand and led them out of the base and through the woods.

Shikamaru looked at the ground, a smile on his face. Itachi liked to take him on walks through the woods…and he liked it too. Itachi eyed Shikamaru from the corner of his eye, trying to see and hear what Deidara talked about last night. Time passed and comfortable silence lay between them. Then Itachi's ears perked: Shikamaru started to hum. A strange feeling washed over him…like his chest was being pulled away from his body and up towards the sky. His heart began to ache with a feeling that he never felt at this kind of intensity: love. _Is this what Deidara was talking about? _He tried to make this strange sensation go away, but it refused to do so until Shikamaru's humming stopped.

"How did you do that?" He asked and Shikamaru looked up at him in confusion.

"You know, Deidara asked me that last night…what am I doing that would make you ask that?" Shikamaru asked, making them stop walking. Itachi stared into his dark eyes, seeing that Shikamaru really didn't understand what he was talking about.

"What song were you humming?" Shikamaru shrugged.

"Just something that I made up." _He writes?_

"When you hum…something strange happens…in a physical sense. Hum something different."

"Itachi, I don't understand why—"

"Please just do it." Shikamaru sighed and thought of something else he could hum and smiled slightly, continuing their walk.

Itachi's ears perked again as he heard that this song was darker…faster. A different sensation came over him: it felt like gravity was pulling harder on him…it felt like he was suffocating.

"Stop." He choked and instantly felt those sensations vanish. _What the hell is going on?_

"What's wrong?" Itachi looked down on him, truly not understanding what was happening.

"Let's head back…I have a feeling that there's something about you that even you don't know."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

"I see what you mean." Itachi said as he walked into the room with Deidara, Zetsu, and Kisame. Deidara stood; glad to know that he wasn't crazy.

"Do you know what it is?" Itachi sighed, shaking his head slightly; not wanting to admit that he didn't know what was going on.

"What are you two talking about?" Zetsu asked, looking between.

"Last night when Shikamaru and I were in the woods, he started to hum. But then…a strange sensation came over me."

"Like your chest was being lifted upward and your heart began to ache." Itachi added, looking thoughtfully at the carpet.

"Exactly."

"I asked him to hum something else…but that song produced a different sensation."

"So when the boy hums, whoever hears it feels a physical sensation?" Zetsu clarified, receiving nods. He stood and looked between them.

"Let's find him and allow him to demonstrate."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

"Child," Itachi said as he sat down on the rock by the lake next to Shikamaru who smiled at him, seeing Deidara, Zetsu and Kisame out of the corner of his eye.

"Did you guys need something?"

"We do actually, Shika. I have a question for you, can you hum us something?" Shikamaru sighed and rolled his eyes, looking out at the lake.

"What's the big deal?"

"Your humming causes physical affects." Deidara said bluntly, making the Nara look surprisingly at him.

"Does it really?" Deidara and Itachi nodded and made a confused look. "Alright…if you want me too…I will." He looked thoughtful for a moment, decided which song he wanted to him. He turned back to the lake, leaned back on his hands, and began to hum.

Deidara and Itachi felt the familiar sensation wash over them again and Kisame and Zetsu were startled by this new feeling. _This must be what they were talking about…what is this feeling? _The humming stopped and the sensation vanished. Shikamaru looked at them innocently, surprised to be receiving confused looks.

"Did it happen again?" They nodded.

"Child…you may have found a gift that you can use against others." Itachi said softly, the others behind them silently agreeing. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well that's awfully nice…don't know where it came from or how it got here, but it's nice."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

"Do you guys realize that it's been a year since Shikamaru left?" Ino asked thoughtfully, the others alright knowing that fact.

"Yeah, and we still have to wait another year before we can go look for him." Choji sighed, desperately wanting to see his best friend.

"I've tried so many times to persuade Granny-Tsunade to let us look for him now, but she's not budging." Naruto added, taking a bite of ramen.

"Do you think he's changed at all?" Ino asked, making Sasuke snort lightly.

"People don't change…they stay the way they want to and never budge from that persona." Sasuke said quietly, his dark eyes looking steadily at her.

"Sasuke's right…besides…knowing Shikamaru, no, he hasn't changed a bit." Choji added, making Ino sigh. _What the hell was I thinking? Of course he wouldn't have changed; he's Shikamaru after all. _

"I bet he hasn't trained since he left…probably gave up on being a ninja." Kiba said darkly, glaring at the table.

"That I don't doubt…no one's around to motivate him or force him to do anything, so why would he train in the slightest?"


	5. Into the Sanctuary

**Dearest Readers,**

***WARNING* This chapter contains lemon. Don't like, then don't read.**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Into the Sanctuary**

"Alright, Itachi, let's go." Shikamaru said, grabbing Itachi's hand and trying to walk them from the room. However, Itachi had other plans as he firmly grabbed the doorframe, preventing Shikamaru from dragging him from the room.

"I am not going." Itachi shot back softly, not loosening his hold on the doorframe.

"Will you stop being such a baby? Come on, we're going whether you like it or not." Shikamaru said, tugging on Itachi's arm again.

"Where are you two going?" Kisame asked, trying to hide the smile from his face as he watched the couple.

"We are going nowhere."

"We're trying to go to a nearby village to actually be around different people and to get away from here for a couple of hours." Shikamaru explained, tugging on Itachi's arm again.

"Why don't you want to go, Itachi?" Deidara asked humor evident in his voice.

"Because I am a rogue ninja and almost everyone knows of me and, quite frankly, I don't feel like dying today."

"That's a good point actually." Shikamaru huffed and released Itachi's hand.

"Fine," He whined, "I'll go by myself because I don't have a bad reputation…yet."

"Have fun…but no wild parties. Don't wander off with people you don't know, which is everyone. Don't tell people where you're from and—"

"I get it, Mother, thanks." Shikamaru said, smiling slyly at him and leaving the room.

"Protective, much?" Deidara teased as Itachi sat down beside him.

"Admittedly, yes. However, saying that kind of thing pisses him off."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

He smiled lightly and stretched his arms above his head, enjoying the feeling of being away from the woods and in an actual village. He decided to change his shirt before he left in case anyone would recognize what the black shirt and red clouds meant…he didn't feel like putting up with confrontation today. He also took off his ring and placed it in his pocket, not wanting to lose it…again wanting to avoid confrontation.

As he wandered through the village, a few of the villagers smiled briefly at him, which he returned. _These people are nice. _He knew he wasn't in one of the hidden villages, judging by the size of it…and how he was able to get in without effort. As Shikamaru observed the shops around him, he glanced into a produce store and saw a somewhat elderly woman carrying a crate of some kind of fruit towards the center of the shop. He walked in, seeing her have great difficulty with the weight of the crate she was carrying.

"Here, let me help you." He said kindly, lifting the crate from her arms.

"Oh thank you, Dear. Could you place it on that table to your right, please?" She asked, her voice soft and kind. He placed it on the table she indicated and brushed some dust off of his clothes.

"Thank you, Dear, you are very kind." She said, smiling widely.

"No problem, looked like you needed some help."

"Oh yes, very much so. What's your name, Dear?"

"Shikamaru."

"Well Shikamaru, my name is Satomi. You're not from this village are you?" Her smile widened with her eyes gleaming.

"No, I'm not actually. I've never been to this village before."

"Well I'm glad you're here. Now I don't want to keep you, but I'm going to give you a little care-package." She said walking to the other side of the shop and lifting a small crate.

"Oh you don't have to give me anything, Satomi, really." She shoved the crate into his arms and he saw that it was full with every fruit known to man.

"Oh Shikamaru, you are a Skinny-Minnie! You need something on your bones! Although, maybe fruit won't provide that, but it's very delicious!" She cried happily, making him laugh.

"Well thank you. I really appreciate it."

"Oh you're very welcome, Dear. Now go enjoy the rest of your day and stop by to see me sometime whenever you get the chance!" She called as he walked towards the door.

"I'll be back, I promise."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

"What the hell is that?" Itachi asked as he saw Shikamaru carrying a crate down the hallway.

"Its fruit that a very nice lady gave to me…she called me a 'Skinny-Minnie'." He said chuckling, continuing to walk.

"In the two years that you've been here, I have never seen you eat fruit."

"I didn't want to turn it down! That would've been rude."

Itachi reached over and lifted it from his arms, ignoring Shikamaru's protests. "I can carry an object, you know." Shikamaru pouted a coy gleam in his eye.

"I know you can, but I would feel better if you didn't."

"Macho Man, are we?"

"I have to keep my pride somehow." Shikamaru rolled his eyes as Itachi set the crate down on the kitchen counter and walked with Shikamaru outside towards the lake.

They sat on the rock, Shikamaru lying against Itachi's front, placing his face in the crock of the Uchiha's neck. Itachi had his arms wrapped tightly around the man on his lap, feeling safer now that he had him near him. He ran his hand up and down Shikamaru's back, taking a slower time on his upper back to marvel at the feeling of the softness of the exposed skin; he felt his warm breath brush against his collarbone and upper chest.

Shikamaru found his thoughts drifting to something that he usually doesn't think about: the Leaf Village. He thought of his former friends, teammates, and mentors…wondering if they changed at all. He remembers Ino's bone-breaking hugs, Choji's obsession with food, Lee's overly enthusiastic attitude about everything, Naruto's strong determination to surpass the greatest of ninja, and…Sasuke's hate towards his brother.

His mind then drifted to Asuma, his mentor. He remembers all of their games of Shoji and how Asuma would try to hide his frustration after losing every game. He then found himself thinking something that he never thought he would: he wanted to see them. Even after their harsh words, he wanted to see their faces.

"What troubles you, Child?" Itachi's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Nothing." He said quietly knowing that Itachi would catch his bluff. Itachi made him sit up and face him.

"What is it?" Shikamaru thought for a moment, should he tell him? What if Itachi takes that as a sign that he wanted to leave?

"I was just…thinking about the Leaf Village." He whispered, not looking Itachi in the eye. Itachi felt his body run cold. _The Leaf Village? He…he wants to go back? _He repressed his anger; he knew that having someone like Shikamaru was a far off dream. But…he wanted Shikamaru to be happy…he had to let him go.

"You wish to go back?" Shikamaru heard the hurt and disappointment clearly in his voice even though he tried to hide it. He pressed his forehead against Itachi's making eye contact with him.

"No, I don't. I want to stay here, but I would like to go back someday to see the people I left behind." Itachi felt himself come back to life at hearing this. He wasn't leaving.

"I promise that I'll take you back there someday. Just tell me when you want to go and we will." Shikamaru's eyes shined and he placed a light kiss on his lips.

They sat for a little bit longer by the lake before returning to the base. Sticking with their routine that they developed, Itachi walked with Shikamaru to his bedroom to wish him goodnight. Itachi wrapped his arms firmly around Shikamaru's slim waist, pulling him tightly against him. As Shikamaru's arms wrapped around his neck, he felt something shift inside of him. He didn't know what it was, but he had a feeling that it was a good thing. Staring into those dark brown eyes that he loved, he felt a new mindset of possessiveness take over him. He knew he was possessive of Shikamaru…everyone knew that, but he was now feeling that possessiveness become stronger. He wanted Shikamaru to be his and no one else's.

He ran a hand up Shikamaru's back, burying his fingers in his dark brown hair. Shikamaru lifted himself onto the platforms of his feet to close the gap between them. Shikamaru felt electricity shoot through his body as Itachi invaded his mouth greedily. He gripped Itachi's hair between his fingers, trying to bring him closer. Itachi ran his hands beneath Shikamaru's shirt, wanting to feel more of him as Shikamaru grabbed the front of his shirt and briefly broke the kiss as he led them inside his bedroom.

He was barely able to close the door before Itachi had him pressed against it, attacking his lips again. He moaned as he felt Itachi run his hands up his sides, removing his shirt in the process. They briefly broke apart again as Itachi tossed Shikamaru's shirt aside, now free to explore his upper body at will. Shikamaru's fingers played with the hem of his shirt and they broke away again.

"Off." Shikamaru said shortly, not leaving room for disagreement. Itachi also tossed his shirt aside and bent down slightly, wrapped his arms just below Shikamaru's rump, and lifted him off the ground.

Shikamaru let out a sound of surprise and Itachi carefully laid him down on the bed, instantly hovering over him. Itachi was careful to not put too much of his body weight on top of Shikamaru has he kissed him again, feeling Shikamaru wrap his legs around his waist. He parted from Shikamaru and began to lay light kisses along his jaw line and down his neck, making the man beneath him moan lightly.

Itachi growled deep in his throat as he felt Shikamaru pull his hips up, brushing lightly against his. He felt himself becoming overwhelmed by passion as he grinded his hips into Shikamaru's roughly, making both of them moan slightly. Shikamaru slid his hands down Itachi's front and began to play with the top of his black pants, making Itachi break away from the kiss.

He stared down at Shikamaru, seeing his eyes shining with lust and assurance. He wanted this. Itachi suddenly saw the look of mischievousness gleam in his eyes as he used his body weight to roll them over. He straddled his waist and took dominance over him as he slowly undid his pants and slid his hand inside.

Itachi groaned deep in his throat as he felt Shikamaru wrap his thin fingers around his throbbing member, stroking it lightly. Shikamaru planted kisses down his body, sliding his pants off in the process. Itachi let out a deep moan as Shikamaru took him into his mouth, taking him in as deeply as he could. As Shikamaru began to slowly move, Itachi gripped the sheets in his hands, doing his best to not take a hold of Shikamaru's hair and force him down on him.

Shikamaru picked up the pace, making Itachi's head spin with pleasure. He almost let out a whine of disappointment when Shikamaru stopped and moved back up to his lips, kissing them gently. Itachi took the opportunity to roll them back over, pinning Shikamaru to the bed and kissing him deeply. He moved his hand down the front of Shikamaru's body and slowly undid his pants and slid them down, removing them completely. He then thought that he should let Shikamaru take control...temporarily since it's going to take him time to adjust. Itachi coated two of his fingers with saliva and carefully inserted one into his opening, making Shikamaru squirm slightly. Slowly, Itachi moved his finger in and out and carefully adding the second one which made Shikamaru squirm even more. _This is going to hurt him a lot more that I thought. _Once he made sure that Shikamaru would be relatively alright in taking him in, he rolled Shikamaru on top of him again, the younger man straddling his waist. Their eyes locked, Itachi silently asking him if he was sure he wanted to do this. Shikamaru leaned over and kissed him reassuringly, silently telling him that he was sure. Shikamaru lifted himself up as Itachi placed his hands on his hips and he positioned himself over Itachi…and slowly let him in.

_God he's tight. _Itachi thought as he felt Shikamaru's muscles tighten around him, making him see stars. Itachi's hands guided Shikamaru down on him, not wanting him to move too quickly in case he hurt himself.

_This isn't going to work. _Shikamaru thought as he felt Itachi fill him to the point of breaking. He felt his body burn and his eyes become wet as he tried to hide the pain he was feeling. Once Itachi was completely in him, he started to roll his hips, but Itachi stopped him. The Uchiha sat up and wrapped his arms around Shikamaru's slim figure, knowing that he was in pain.

The pain began to subside and Shikamaru rolled his hips, igniting the intense heat between them again. Itachi took hold of his hips again, making a steady rhythm. Their breathing began to quicken and become heavy as their rhythm became faster.

Carefully, Itachi pushed Shikamaru onto his back, making sure that he wasn't putting a lot of his body weight on him. He started a rhythm between them, slow and gentle at first, but it began to quicken and become harder as Shikamaru became impatient.

Shikamaru released a long moan as Itachi thrust into him, becoming rougher. He let out a gasp as he felt Itachi grab his member and begin to pump him in time with his thrusts. Shikamaru's breathing became quick gasps and his moans became louder. He clung to Itachi's sweat-drenched back, his loud moans mixing with Itachi's. Itachi pounded into him, making him see spots and he dragged his nails down Itachi's back, leaving angry red lines. Their pace became quicker as they both felt themselves reaching their peak.

"I-Itachi…." Shikamaru moaned, digging his nails even deeper into his back. Shikamaru arched his back and cried out as he came between them as Itachi forced himself in as far as he could and spilled his seed in him.

Both of them panted heavily, Itachi hazily looking for a place to leave his mark. He reluctantly removed himself from Shikamaru's warmth and brushed his teeth against his shoulder, biting him. Shikamaru let out a gasp as he felt Itachi sink his teeth into his shoulder, claiming him as his own.

Their breathing eventually evened out and Itachi lay next to Shikamaru, pulling him towards him by his slim waist and wrapping a nearby blanket around them. Shikamaru looked at Itachi's dark eyes and found them shining brightly with the look of passion within them. Those eyes only looked at him…only him. He was claimed by Itachi Uchiha and he didn't care if anyone saw the mark.

**ItachiXShikamaru**

**I don't know if it's just me, but I felt REALLY dirty and perverted when I wrote this chapter. ^^; **

**Reviews please!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	6. Close Encounter

**Dearest Readers,**

***SONG* "Angels" ~Within Temptation**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Close Encounter**

They were all standing with anticipation in front of Tsunade's desk, waiting for her to give them their orders of how to go about the search for Shikamaru.

"Since we have no idea where he is, you will have to divide into small groups…split into your teams would be best. However, all of you start from the woods next to the training grounds and once you reach the next village, fan out from there. If one of you find him, bring him back here and I'll send out other ninja from the village to search for the rest of you telling you that Shikamaru has been found. However, with that being said, I do have one rule."

"What's that?" Naruto asked, anxious to get out of her office and go search for their friend and comrade.

"I'll give you a month to look for him. If Shikamaru is not found in one month, you will come back and we'll think of a different approach."

They didn't like the fact that they had a time constraint, but it was better than not being able to search for him at all. So they nodded in agreement and left the tower towards the woods.

"Alright Gang, here's the number one rule," Kakashi said as they started through the woods. "Don't do anything that could get yourself hurt. Don't try to be a hero and don't put yourself in any unnecessary dangerous situations." They nodded in agreement as the senseis discussed on where they should lead their teams, unaware of the fact that they were being watched by two pairs of dark eyes.

**ItachiXShikamaru**

They sat in a tree branch high off the ground, staring up at the clear blue sky. Shikamaru sat with his back against Itachi's front, enjoying the feeling of having his arms wrapped possessively around his waist. He was no longer in pain from their "activity" a few weeks ago and when the others found out about it by seeing the mark on his shoulder; they were as fine with it as they were when their relationship started.

"We should be doing something productive, Love." Itachi said, Shikamaru smiling at his new pet name.

"We are doing something productive."

"What are we doing exactly?"

"We're turning oxygen into carbon dioxide…duh." Shikamaru said smiling up at him.

"Shall we travel?" Shikamaru's eyes became bright: he loved going on day long travels. They never decided where they were going, they just started going in any direction.

"Of course, but you have to carry me half of the time." Shikamaru said as they stood, Itachi taking hold of his hand.

"In your dreams, Love."

They started on their day of traveling, not sure where they were going. As they continued on their path, they stopped when they heard voices and hid in the seclusion of a leafy branch. They looked down and Shikamaru felt his blood run cold: it was them. Both he and Itachi eyed them carefully, listening in on their conversation.

"There's a small village just up ahead; that's where we'll split and fan out. Asuma, take your team towards the Land of Earth. Gai, take yours towards the Land of Wind. Kurenai, take yours towards the Land of Water. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, we'll head towards the Land of Lightning. Agreed?"

So they were looking for him…interesting. He watched them, feeling his anger about what his comrades had said about him rise. He knew what he wanted to do from here. He didn't want them to know he was there with them…but he wanted them to know that he knew there they were. He turned to Itachi, signaling for him to cover his ears. Itachi knew that he was going to use his new gift of using his voice as a weapon.

Silently, Shikamaru moved from his hiding place and moved to another leafy branch, never losing sight of them. He closed his eyes, focusing on the melody and words of the song flowing in his mind. His eyes slowly opened and he began to sing.

"What the hell is that?" Asuma asked quickly, all of them suddenly hearing someone's singing echo through the woods. They felt gravity pull harder on them and their hearts feeling like they were trying to jump from their chests.

_Sparkling angel, I believe  
You were my savior in my time of need  
Blinded by faith, I couldn't hear  
All the whispers, the warnings so clear  
I see the angels  
I'll lead them to your door  
There's no escape now  
No mercy no more  
No remorse-'cause I still remember  
The smile when you tore me apart._

You took my heart  
Deceived me right from the start  
You showed me dreams  
I wished they would turn into real  
You broke a promise and made me realize  
It was all just a lie

Sparkling angel, I couldn't see  
Your dark intentions, your feelings for me  
Fallen angel, tell me why?  
What is the reason, the thorn in your eye?  
I see the angels  
I'll lead them to your door  
There's no escape now  
No mercy, no more  
No remorse-'cause I still remember  
The smile when you tore me apart

You took my heart  
Deceived me right from the start  
You showed me dreams  
I wished they would turn into real  
You broke a promise and made me realize  
It was all just a lie

Could have been forever  
Now we have reached the end

This world may have failed you  
It doesn't give the reason why  
You could have chosen a different path

The smile when you tore me apart

_You took my heart  
Deceived me right from the start  
You showed me dreams  
I wished they would turn into real  
You broke a promise and made me realize  
It was all just a lie_

Could have been forever

Now we have reached the end [1]

Shikamaru looked coldly down at them as the strange sensations that they felt lifted.

"W-what was that?" Naruto stuttered, never feeling anything like that in his life. _Whoever is near us…they're strong, no doubt about that. Using sound as a weapon is one thing…using your voice as a weapon is another. _Sasuke thought, his eyes darting around his surroundings, not aware that his older brother was watching him. _He's grown up quite a bit…it's nice to see you Sasuke._

Shikamaru had written a brief note on a tag and attached it to a kunai. Making sure that he wouldn't hit any of them, he threw it towards the ground, making it stick in the dirt. They all assumed defensive positions as Shikamaru made his way back to Itachi as he led the way back to the Akatsuki base.

"Why would someone throw a tag and not have it explode? Not only that, why would someone throw one and not stay around?" Sakura asked eyeing the tag as Kakashi pulled it out of the ground and examined the tag.

Kakashi felt his body freeze, not believing the name on the tag.

"What is it?" Asuma asked, noticing Kakashi's stiff posture. The silver-haired man turned towards them, surprise evident on his face.

"Shikamaru was here."

"What?" Ino asked, dumbfounded.

"He was here…just now. He must have been the one who was singing."

"But how is that possible? Shikamaru can't do something like that."

"It seems like he's learned a lot in the past 2 years."

"What did he say?" Choji asked, nodding towards the tag. Kakashi looked down at the neat cursive letters and began to read:

_Even though you have decided to search for me, I am in a place where I cannot be found. 2 years ago, I started my life over…and I'm glad I did…I'm glad I left. If you do somehow manage to come near to my location…know this: I am not alone._

_~Shikamaru_

"He's not alone? But who…who would he be with?" Ino asked the one question they all were wondering.

"Whoever he's with, chances are…they're someone who's left their village as well."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

**A relatively short chapter, however, I felt that it was necessary to include.**

**See that beautiful button at the bottom of the screen? Click on it…write something…you know you want to.**

***SONG* "Angels" ~Within Temptation**


	7. Dawn of a New Life

**Dearest Readers,**

**Another time lapse…fun stuff.**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Dawn of a New Life**

They were depressed…flat-out. They were forced to come back to the village 3 weeks ago after failing to find Shikamaru. What was even more depressing was that they were so close to him at one point, but they didn't know he was near them until it was too late.

"We were so close to him…." Ino said miserably, even Sasuke feeling a bit upset that they didn't find Shikamaru. But the fact that Shikamaru was able to use his voice in such a way bugged him.

"Whoever he's with…must be someone who has a large amount of knowledge in terms of jutsu." Sasuke said slowly, drawing their attention.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, putting aside his rivalry with the Uchiha just for once.

"How was someone like him able to learn how to use his voice as a weapon? I've never heard of someone being able to do that."

"Same, I don't understand how he would be able to fuse chakra with his voice. But at the same time, how is he able to make his voice have physical affects on his opponents? It doesn't make any sense."

"However he learned to do it…that technique is dangerous. For all we know, each kind of song can have different affects on his opponents. He could've been going easy on us when he chose that particular song. Maybe some songs have less of a negative affect…but maybe some have a much more negative affect."

They thought about what Sasuke just said…thinking that maybe he was right…Shikamaru might've been going easy on them and that his voice is capable of more damage than what he let on back in the woods.

But one thing was for certain: whatever has happened in the past 2 years, it's changed Shikamaru…he's become stronger…but they weren't so sure if that was a good thing now that he wasn't a part of their village.

**ItachiXShikamaru**

Itachi sighed deeply as he heard Shikamaru vomit from the bathroom for the second time that morning. _It's not even 7:00 yet. _He was getting worried…very worried. Shikamaru's been getting up in the early hours of the morning everyday to vomit and he usually got sick a couple of times every morning. _How long has this been going on? About 3 weeks maybe? _At first he thought that Shikamaru had caught a stomach virus, but even after two weeks he wasn't better. So it must be something more than a stomach virus…but what? He didn't know a lot about medicine, but he knew that Shikamaru needed to see a doctor…but he knew that Shikamaru hated going to the doctor.

He heard the toilet flush and Shikamaru brush his teeth again. Normally, Itachi would be with him, but Shikamaru told him to not bother anymore since it was happening so frequently. Shikamaru turned off the light and walked back to bed, slipping under the covers and into Itachi's arms again. _He's running a fever._

"You need to go to a doctor, Love." He said quietly, stroking his brown hair.

"It'll pass."

"That's what you said 3 weeks ago." Shikamaru hesitated…he had a point…and he felt like crap.

"Let's give it another week." Shikamaru mumbled, feeling himself go back to sleep quickly.

"No, Love, this needs to be taken care of quickly. It's lasted 3 weeks so it could be something very serious…please go." Shikamaru heard the deep worry in Itachi's voice and he sighed quietly…he hated going to the doctor.

"Fine…I'll go. I'll make an appointment with someone in the small village today." Itachi laid a kiss on top of his head.

"Thank you."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

Shikamaru sat in an armchair near the fireplace, wrapped in one of Itachi's sweaters. He somehow made it to the village and made an appointment with the doctor for tomorrow morning…and he somehow made it back, vomited, and is now stuffing his face again.

"What are you eating?" Deidara asked, sitting near him. _He's not looking to good. _Shikamaru yawned and used one hand to wrap the sweater tighter around him.

"Rice, peanut butter, and mustard." He said simply, taking a bite. Deidara felt sick to his stomach at the disgusting combination of food. _How the hell can he eat that? That's disgusting!_

"Oh…that's…interesting." He said standing and walking quickly to the nearest bathroom in case he got sick. He passed Itachi in the hallway and stopped him.

"Munchkin has a gross taste in foods."

"Why do you say that?"

"Rice, peanut butter, and mustard…don't know about you, but I find that really disgusting." Itachi raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"He's actually eating that?"

"He's eating a whole bowl of it. Excuse me, I think I'm going to be sick." He watched Deidara disappear down the hallway and went to find Shikamaru, confused about his sense of taste.

"Did you make an appointment with the doctor?" He asked sitting in the seat that Deidara occupied minutes earlier. Shikamaru nodded, taking another bite of his disgusting food combination.

"That's an…interesting combination you have there." He observed, causing Shikamaru to look up at him and shrug.

"I think it is too, but it's actually pretty good."

"What made you decide to put those things together?"

"I don't know. I just wanted it."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

He sat in the waiting room at the doctor's office, feeling like he was going to keel over at any given moment. He felt like crap and he wanted to know why.

"Shikamaru Nara?" A kind voice above him said, making him look up and smile gently as he stood. "Come on back." The doctor closed the door behind him as Shikamaru sat shakily in the nearest seat.

"What seems to be the problem?" He asked, sitting on his stood and facing him.

"I've been vomiting a couple times everyday, but only in the mornings and I've kind of been feeling…'blah'…know what I mean?" The doctor nodded thoughtfully, having an idea of what was wrong. He stood and opened the door.

"Come with me, I'm going to run a quick test and see if that'll tell us what's going on." Shakily, Shikamaru stood and followed the doctor to another room with a large machine in it.

"Alright, just hop up there, lie down, and lift your shirt about one foot." He said, turning the machine on and Shikamaru did as he was told. The doctor pulled out a small bottle a squirted some of its contents onto his gloved hand.

"This is going to be cold, but it helps the machine get a better look inside." Shikamaru jumped slightly at the coldness. _Why does it have to be so cold?_

The doctor then pulled out a device that was attached to the machine and placed it on Shikamaru's stomach, moving it around. His eyes scanned the screen carefully, looking for a particular shape. A small smile graced his lips when he found the shape he was looking for. He turned the screen so that Shikamaru could see and pointed to a black dot.

"See that right there?" He asked and Shikamaru nodded.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"It's an embryo." The word floated into his mind, not really comprehending it at first…and then it clicked. _Embryo? As in…baby?_

"A what?" He asked stupidly, making the doctor chuckle lightly.

"An embryo…that's the medical term for a baby that hasn't reached the 8 week mark yet. So in other words: you're pregnant."

"But…but, last time I checked…I'm a guy and guys can't get pregnant."

"The majority of the male species can't, but there have been a few reported cases of male pregnancies." Shikamaru didn't know what to think. _A baby? How's Itachi going to take this? _

"I know it's a shock, but it'll wear off eventually. I would like to see you again in a few weeks just for a check-up to make sure everything is going smoothly, okay?" The doctor said as he wiped the jell off and Shikamaru pulled down his shirt and sat up, placing a hand on his stomach.

This…changes a lot of things. He not only had to consider Itachi's reaction…but the other Akatsuki members as well. He didn't know what to do and the scariest part of this situation was how Itachi was going to react to the news of becoming a father.

**ItachiXShikamaru**

He crawled into bed as soon as he got back to the base. He wrapped the covers tightly around him, placing a hand over his stomach again. There's a baby growing inside of him…right now. He heard the door open and close quietly and felt Itachi sit next to him, laying a hand on his hip.

"How did it go?" He asked quietly and Shikamaru slowly rolled over, untangled himself from the covers and crawled onto Itachi's lap. He looked up at his dark eyes, his heart pounding rapidly in his chest.

"It…it was…." He couldn't find the words and Itachi's worry heightened. He brushed his fingertips against the side of Shikamaru's face, worry etched in his features.

"What did he say, Love?" Shikamaru gently bit his lower lip, scared to death that Itachi would get angry and make him leave. His eyes grew wet at this thought and he looked away as a small sob escaped his lips. Itachi was on the verge of panicking. _What's going on? It must be more serious than I thought if he's having such a hard time telling me about it. _Shikamaru looked back up at him after wiping his eyes.

"P-please don't leave me." He said quietly, tears running down his face. _Leave? What the hell is he talking about? _Itachi held Shikamaru's face in his hands, using his thumbs to brush away his tears.

"Love, whatever it is, it's not going to change how I feel about you and it won't make me leave you. I'd rather die than leave you." Shikamaru looked deep into the Uchiha's eyes, seeing that he was being completely honest. He swallowed and took a deep breath.

"I…I-I'm pregnant." Itachi's eyes widened slightly at this. _Pregnant? But how could he be? It does explain why he's been getting sick every morning and why he's always tired and his gross cravings…but how? _He was shocked to say the least: Shikamaru was pregnant…and he was going to be a father. He actually found that he kind of liked the sound of that…being a father. He stroked Shikamaru's face, a small smile on his face.

"Love, while I am very surprised, I have no intentions of leaving you." Shikamaru was flooded with relief; he didn't seem upset.

"Y-you're not angry?"

"Why would I be angry, Love? I kind of like sound of being a father." A wide smile broke across Shikamaru's face, his eyes sparkling brightly. _He likes the sound of being a father…he's not angry. _

Two questions remain: how would the other members react and were they ready to become parents?

**ItachiXShikamaru**

They decided to hold off on telling the others about the pregnancy until it was necessary to do so. But it was getting difficult because Shikamaru's figure was starting to change…and he was pissed about that.

"Munchkin, have you had any bizarre food combinations today?" Deidara asked, flopping down in a seat in front of him; Kisame, Zetsu, and Itachi were sitting across the room.

"Let's see: I had some tea with some hot sauce and pepper in it, that's really good."

"I'll pass thanks."

"Then I had ramen mixed with vinegar, lime juice, and apple sauce."

"You sick child." Kisame said from across the room as Deidara began to feel nausea.

"You're putting on weight, Kid." Zetsu observed, noticing that Shikamaru's hips have gotten wider and he's gotten rounder around the middle. Shikamaru locked eyes with Itachi, silently asking if they should tell them about the pregnancy. The Uchiha nodded slightly and Shikamaru turned his attention back to Zetsu.

"In my defense: it's not my fault that I'm putting on weight around the hips."

"You're putting weight on around the middle too." Deidara added.

"That's different."

"How so?"

"Well, it's all Itachi's fault that I'm getting big."

"Don't blame this on me." Itachi said, joining the conversation.

"Well 'technically' it is your fault." Shikamaru retorted, smiling at him.

"How is it Itachi's fault that you're putting on weight?" Kisame asked, gaining Shikamaru's attention.

"I gave him cravings." Itachi said, pretending to be miserable.

"How do you…." Zetsu started, but then stopped; the only thing that would make sense right now…Shikamaru getting bigger…Itachi 'giving' him cravings…Itachi being at 'fault'. A shock expression appeared on his face as he looked at Shikamaru.

"What's up, Zetsu?" Kisame asked, noticing his change in expression. Zetsu felt his lips curl into a smile.

"Congrats." He said, leaning back in his seat.

"You're not angry?"

"Why would I be, Child?"

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Deidara butted in, looking between them.

"They won't be angry either, Child." Zetsu said and Shikamaru turned to Deidara, smiling lightly.

"I am with child." It took a moment for Deidara to understand what he meant before his face lit up and whirled his head towards Itachi.

"You're going to be a Papa." He said, smiling widely. Kisame was surprised by this, but was glad that Itachi was going to stay with Shikamaru to raise the child. _Itachi becoming a father…who would've thought that would happen? _

"Don't call me 'Papa'." Itachi said flatly, but a playful look gleamed in his eyes.

"How about 'Daddy'?"

"No."

"Father?"

"No."

"Master?"

"Hell no."

"Captain?"

"No, Deidara."

"You ruled out all of the cool names a kid can call their father!" Deidara said exasperatedly, making them all laugh lightly.

"How far are you along?" Kisame asked.

"About a month now."

"So that's why you were feeling crappy." Deidara realized, making Shikamaru laugh again.

"Yeah, thank God most of that's over with."

"What do you want it to be?" Shikamaru shrugged and looked over at Itachi.

"We're not picky. Doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl, we'll love them just the same."

Deidara, Kisame, and Zetsu absorbed this information slowly. Ever since Shikamaru came to Akatsuki, Itachi's changed…in a good way. He was no longer cold and emotionless, but instead showed emotions that they didn't know he had, even though he was still quiet and calm. As the thought of having a baby around starting to sink in, they found that they liked the idea. They were murderers, traitors, and everything along those lines, but that doesn't mean they can't have feelings. They noticed that not only having Shikamaru around change Itachi…he's changed them as well. They still pick on each other, but they were nicer to each other now…which was weird for them.

They also knew what things would change once the baby was born: Shikamaru and Itachi wouldn't go on missions as often as they do and they'll most likely end up leaving the base eventually…maybe. It was too far away to tell.

But no matter what happened from here on out, they supported Itachi and Shikamaru. If Itachi was as protective of Shikamaru as he is now, he's going to get even more protective through the course of the pregnancy and once the baby's born…he'll be the most protective person on the face of the earth.

But they felt that Itachi's protectiveness would be one of the many qualities that he'll have to make him a good father.

**ItachiXShikamaru**

**^_^ I happy.**

**Reviews please!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	8. Preparations Begin

**Dearest Readers,**

**There are two small time lapses here.**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Preparations Begin**

He sighed when he turned in front of the mirror to look at his side, seeing his baby bump becoming larger with every passing week. He placed a hand lightly over his baby bump, smiling as he looked down. Itachi watched him from the door way, leaning against the doorframe, watching his lover carefully. _He doesn't like the fact that his figure's getting bigger…but knowing that there's a child there is outweighing that._

"I'm big." Shikamaru said when Itachi wrapped his arms around him, resting his chin on his shoulder.

"You're supposed to be, Love. It tends to happen when you're in the fourth month of pregnancy…at least that's what I've heard."

"Oh very funny." Shikamaru said, laughing quietly as he went to slip his shirt on. He started wearing baggier clothes to accommodate his growing baby bump; form fitting clothes won't be an option until the baby's born. He pecked Itachi on the lips before leaving.

"Have fun at the doctor's." Itachi called after him, receiving a huff of irritation in response.

**ItachiXShikamaru**

"Alright Shikamaru, let's take a look here." The doctor said, examining the screen closely as he moved the wand around. Shikamaru felt his heart stop when he saw him squint.

"What's wrong?"

"Well…2 things: One…there's more than one child."

"T-twins?" Shikamaru asked in disbelief, receiving a smile and a nod.

"Twin girls."

"Girls?" He asked, smiling as he received another nod.

"Yes, but there's one other thing."

"What is it? Are they alright?" The doctor hesitated.

"One of them is."

"What about the other one?" Shikamaru shot back quickly, his voice becoming higher with panic.

"Well…by the looks of it, one of them has a tiny tumor on her brain, but it's not cancerous." He added quickly seeing Shikamaru about to scream.

"Will it…do anything?"

"Unfortunately, yes. It'll cause her to have something called Balance Disorder. Basically, she won't have a sense of balance."

"Is it treatable?" Shikamaru whispered, his eyes becoming wet. The doctor sighed, looking thoughtful.

"Technically, yes. But…I honestly wouldn't recommend it…its too risky." Shikamaru felt himself lose control of his breathing and he began to feel lightheaded. Tears rolled down his face and he couldn't breath. The doctor placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him.

"Breath deeply, Shikamaru…deep breaths." Slowly, he began to calm down, wiping the tears from his face. He closed his eyes, trying to steady himself.

"Why would it be risky to treat it?" He asked, opening his eyes.

"Well, the tumor is at the place where the spinal cord connects to the brain. If we operated on it, we would most likely end up paralyzing her because it's so near her spinal cord. In order to actually 'treat' the disorder, the cause of the disorder needs to be removed; in this case, it's the tumor. Also," He took a deep breath before continuing, "It looks like she also has a leg defect. She appears to be pigeon-toed…her feet are turning inward instead of straight. So she'll have to wear braces to straighten her legs out, but she can't do that if she can't balance herself long enough to walk. See what I mean?"

Shikamaru covered his face with both of his hands, feeling overwhelmed. He wanted Itachi with him…right now. He began to cry quietly, not wanting to believe that one of the twins had a defect…two by the sounds of it. He felt the doctor place a hand on his leg comfortingly.

"I know that no parent wants to find out that their child has a defect…but this defect isn't going to kill her, I promise. I'll leave you alone so that you can think clearly, okay? Just make sure you make an appointment before you leave." Shikamaru nodded and he heard the door open and close quietly.

So many emotions were coursing through him that they made his head spin. What was he suppose to do? More importantly: How is Itachi going to react?

**ItachiXShikamaru**

He held his tears back until he made it back to his room. He crawled into bed, wrapped the covers tightly around him, and wailed into a pillow. Shikamaru didn't hear Itachi quietly open and close the door, nor did he see the look of sheer panic and worry on his face. He quickly walked over to Shikamaru and knelt on the side of the bed, stroking Shikamaru's hair.

"Love, what's wrong?" He asked quietly, trying to keep the worry out of his voice but failing miserably. Shikamaru removed his face from the pillow and looked at Itachi with red, glassy eyes…making Itachi's panic rise. Shikamaru moved and wrapped his arms tightly around Itachi's neck, crying into his shoulder. _What's going on? _He sat on the bed and pulled Shikamaru onto his lap, stroking his hair. Slowly, his sobs began to die down, leaving him breathing deeply.

"Love…what happened?" Shikamaru looked up at him, not sure how he should tell him what he was told earlier. He sniffed and bit his lower lip gently.

"T-there's good news…and bad news." Itachi felt his heart stop at the 'bad news' part.

"Let's…let's start with the good news."

"We're having twin girls." He said, smiling lightly up at him. Itachi returned the smile and lightly kissed him on the forehead.

"That's wonderful news, Love. But…what's…the bad news?" Shikamaru hesitated.

"One…one of the girls…has a defect." Itachi's body became numb…one of his…daughters…had a defect. But what kind?

"What…what kind of defect?"

"B-Balance Disorder…she won't have a sense of balance, so she won't be able to walk for long without someone helping her and she'll need to wear leg braces. But…he said that it's best to not treat it because the disorder is caused by a tumor at the spot where her spinal cord connects to her brain. He said that if they operated on it…they'll most likely paralyze her."

Silence fell between them as Itachi rocked Shikamaru slightly; having great difficulty in processing what Shikamaru just told him. One of…his girls…had a defect. Even with that fact, he knew that his feelings towards…his kids…haven't changed, even though one of them had a defect.

They were _his _kids and he'll love both of them equally…and he knew Shikamaru would as well.

**ItachiXShikamaru**

The members of Akatsuki knew to not mention the twins in any way until Itachi and Shikamaru coped with the fact that one of them had a defect. Kisame always thought back to when Itachi told him about it…he's never seen the Uchiha so vulnerable.

"We're not doing pink." Itachi said flatly as they sat at the small table, looking at color cards for ideas of what to paint the babies' room.

"Why? Pink is the color used for girls." Shikamaru shot back, waving the light pink card in front of his eyes.

"Pink is the stereotypical color for girls. Besides, the rooms tend to be a little bit dark…pink would not look good in a dark room."

"We'll install more lights."

"We don't have that many sources for electricity, Love." Kisame, Deidara, and Zetsu grinned as they watched the couple interact, surprised at Itachi's childish side.

"How about this one?" Shikamaru asked, picking up a light red color.

"That's light red…which is the same as pink."

"Damn it, I was hoping you wouldn't catch that." He threw the card on the table, looking at the other color cards in front of them. A color caught Itachi's attention and he looked down at it. _That's a nice one. _He picked it up and showed it to Shikamaru.

"What about this one?" Shikamaru looked at, surprised that Itachi picked amethyst.

"I like that one…it's not bright, but it's not dark either. I think that one will work." Itachi smiled lightly at him, placing a kiss on his forehead.

"You know what would be ironic?" Itachi asked as they stacked the other color cards.

"What's that?"

"If the twins were born in February."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

"How's it going?" Shikamaru asked as he folded his hands on top of his baby bump, looking down at Itachi who was attempting to put the crib together. Itachi had a screwdriver tucked into his ponytail and two small metal pieces in his hands as he looked down at the directions.

"I'm being defeated by a piece of baby furniture. What am I suppose to do with these?" Shikamaru bit back a laugh at Itachi's growing frustration.

"You're still not done yet?" Deidara said from the door way, watching Itachi on the floor.

"Shut up, Deidara. This is a lot harder than it looks. These pieces are the same!" The blonde walked into the amethyst-colored room and stood next to Shikamaru, placing an arm around his shoulders.

"My, my, my…Itachi Uchiha is being beaten by a piece of baby furniture…who would've thought that would happen?" He chuckled lightly, receiving a glare from Itachi.

"I give up…they're going to have to sleep on the floor."

"You and I both know that's not going to happen." Shikamaru said as he walked to the door to look at a piece of paper taped next to the light switch with the names they were thinking about naming the girls.

"Have you guys decided on names yet?" Deidara asked, noticing what Shikamaru was looking at.

"No, not yet."

"I wanted to name them Optimus Prime and Megatron [1], but that's not going to happen." Itachi mumbled, making a happy sound when two pieces fitted together.

"We're not naming our children after robots!" Shikamaru said exasperatedly, putting his hands on his hips.

"How many kids do you know that are named Optimus Prime and Megatron?"

"None."

"Exactly." Shikamaru rolled his eyes as Deidara smiled, shaking his head. _These two have a strange relationship…a strong and good one…but strange._

"What about Gir and Zim [2]?" Deidara asked, making Shikamaru sigh heavily.

"Don't give Itachi ideas."

"Wonder-Woman and Hawk-Girl [3]?" Itachi added, earning a glare from Shikamaru.

"If you were having triples, you could name them Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup [4]." Deidara said, looking innocently around the room.

"How about Obi-Wan Kenobi…Kenoba and Princess Laya [5]?" Itachi added quickly before Shikamaru walked out of the room, leaving Itachi and Deidara laughing lightly.

Deidara watched Itachi as he started to make process of putting the crib together. The Uchiha's personality has changed drastically since Shikamaru joined Akatsuki 3 years ago and with the fact that the twins were suppose to be born in 5 months. He had a feeling that since he was going to have daughters, he would be much more protective over them then he would be if they were boys…it's just a father thing from what he's heard. _Daddy's Little Girls. _

"What's that smell?" Itachi's voice broke through his thoughts and he was surprised to see a white crib with light purple swirls and flowers on it standing against the wall.

"I don't smell anything."

"Oh wait, I know that smell…its victory." Deidara rolled his eyes at Itachi for being childish…though he did find Itachi's childish side to be humorous.

"Munchkin will be very proud of you."

"I'm proud of myself."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

**[1] Transformers**

**[2] Invader Zim**

**[3] Justice League**

**[4] Powerpuff Girls**

**[5] Star Wars**

**I know Itachi was very OOC, but I think it was adorable that he was like that. ^_^**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	9. The Journey Begins

**Dearest Readers,**

**You know what's in this chapter…time lapse.**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**The Journey Begins**

"I feel old." Ino said as she looked down at the '22' written in white icing on her birthday cake.

"You feel old? Ino, you're still a baby." Kurenai said, smiling down at her from her place at the table in their usual 'hang-out' place at the ramen restaurant.

"Alright, Ino, make a wish and blow out the candles…I want some cake." Sakura said, smiling brightly at her from across the table.

Ino returned the smile and looked down at the cake, her eye catching the cloud-pattern near the top of the cake. She felt her heart ache and her face fell slightly. She turned back towards the candles and squeezed her eyes shut, concentrating hard.

_I wish Shikamaru would come back._

She blew out the candle and Sakura instantly started cutting the cake before they had the chance to remove the candles. Ino smiled at them all, her smile feeling slightly forced. This was the third year that she had to celebrate her birthday without Shikamaru…he usually got her flower seeds that grew into the most beautiful flowers that she's ever seen.

"Ino, what's wrong?" Choji asked, noticing her fallen face. She looked back at him, trying to hide her sadness but found that she couldn't. She nodded towards the cloud-pattern on the cake and they knew what she was thinking of: Shikamaru. Ino sighed deeply, trying to make herself cheerful again.

"I shouldn't be eating cake because it'll blow my diet, but who cares?" She said, smiling widely indicating that she didn't want to dwell on Shikamaru.

Even though Shikamaru's departure had hurt them extremely, when they returned to the village after failing to find him last year…they found that he didn't occupy their minds as much as he used too. They've come to terms with the fact that he left and that they had to let him go.

**ItachiXShikamaru**

Sasuke sat on a high tree branch, gazing up at the stars, knowing…somewhere…that _he _could be watching them too. After they parted from celebrating Ino's birthday, he came here, not wanting to be around people. Hatred burned inside of him as he remembered this day for another reason: the night that Itachi massacred their clan.

"What are you doing up here by yourself?" A voice asked from next to him and he turned to see Naruto climb onto the branch next to him. Sasuke clenched his teeth tightly and turned his gaze back to the stars: Naruto was the last person he wanted to see right now.

"Leave me alone, Naruto." He growled, glaring at the sky.

"Not until you tell me what's bothering you. You seemed really angry for the whole night…why?" Sasuke felt his hatred and anger burn again.

"You would be pissed off too if tonight marked the night that your clan was killed." He hissed, glaring at Naruto who gulped.

"S-sorry, Sasuke…I shouldn't have pried."

"Then leave." Normally, Naruto would already be shouting at Sasuke, but he knew when to set aside their rivalry and his pride.

"Alright…I'll…see you later then." Naruto hopped to the ground, glanced up at Sasuke with worry and slowly left.

He hated starry nights…with a passion. To most people, they were beautiful and mysterious. To him, they only brought back the memories of the night his clan was murdered…by his brother…the sky had many stars that night.

Sasuke sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight. Little did he know that his hated older brother was gazing at the stars as well.

**ItachiXShikamaru**

"Itachi…Itachi, look what I can do." Shikamaru said as he balanced a bowl of ramen noodles on his baby bump, looking at it with great concentration.

"That's true talent right there, Love."

With the delivery date just 2 weeks away, they decided to rent a hotel room in the nearby village in case Shikamaru went into labor early. To disguise Itachi's identity in case anyone in the village knew who he was, they decided to go to the small hospital so that way there was less of a chance of someone recognizing him. Even though it was still February, it felt like Spring outside.

Shikamaru was smiling at the baby clothes they brought with them to dress the girls in when they could leave the hospital. _They're so small. _As he was setting aside a pale blue dress, he felt a searing pain shoot through his body, making him cry out in pain.

"What's wrong?" Itachi asked, at his side immediately. Shikamaru took painful breaths, never feeling this much pain in his life. "Love, please say something, what is wrong?" Shikamaru clenched his teeth as another wave of pain washed over him.

"I-tach-i…they want…out…now."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

He released another scream of pain as he felt his body being split in two. Itachi wanted to scream in pain as well because of the death grip Shikamaru had his hand in.

"You're almost there, Hun. Give me one more push." Shikamaru screamed again and then they heard crying. Shikamaru let out a small laugh as he heard that noise and Itachi smiled as he saw the nurse cleaning her.

"Alright, Hun, one more time."

"I can't do it again." Shikamaru said breathlessly as Itachi stroked his hair.

"Yes you can, Hun. Now give me a push." Shikamaru's screaming filled the room again as the second girl was being brought into the world. Crying was heard and Shikamaru felt his body collapse from exhaustion.

"You did very well, Love." Itachi said quietly, placing a kiss on his hot forehead.

"Here's the oldest," a nurse said, handing her to Shikamaru. "And here's the youngest." Another nurse said, handing the other girl to Itachi. The nurses left the room to give them privacy as they looked at the girls.

They were both beautiful in every way imaginable. Shikamaru looked down at his…daughter…fondly, marveling at the resemblance she has of Itachi. Midnight black hair laid softly on the top of her head and her wide, black, innocent eyes looked up at him, curious about who he was. Shikamaru smiled, feeling his eyes becoming wet as he brushed a finger gently against her cheek.

Itachi observed him, smiling. He returned his attention back to his…daughter in his arms. He felt how her legs were slightly twisted on his arm…this was the one with the defect; but he couldn't help but see himself in the girl as wide, black, innocent eyes stared up at him, wondering who the man was that was holding her. He stroked her midnight black hair, feeling its softness against his fingers. Her hands stuck out of her blanket and he played with her hands with one of his fingers. His eyes grew wide and his breath got caught in his throat as she wrapped her hand around his finger, not able to wrap her fingers around the whole way. Shikamaru smiled over at them, seeing Itachi's reaction. He looked back down at the girl in his arms.

"What should we name them?" He asked gently, stroking the girl's face. Itachi looked down at the girl in his arms who was still holding his finger. They talked a lot about names, but they never settled on anything.

"How about you name that one," he said nodding towards the girl in Shikamaru's arms, "and I'll name this one…if we both agree."

"That sounds fair." Silence fell between them as they looked at the daughter they were holding, thinking of the perfect name to give them. Itachi smiled as a name entered his mind…one that he's always liked. He stroked her hair again, looking down at her fondly.

"Amaranth." He said quietly, Shikamaru looking over at him and smiling.

"I like that name…that means 'an unfading flower', right?" Itachi nodded, making eye contact with him.

"I think I have one." Shikamaru said, looking back down at the girl.

"What's that?" 

"Eli…'smart woman'." Itachi sat on the bed next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as they looked down at the girls.

"Eli and Amaranth…they're identical, aren't they?"

"Looks like it…besides Amaranth's legs, but that's not important."

"Love,"

"Yeah?"

"You know what today is?"

"What?"

"February 18th." Shikamaru remembered back to Itachi saying that it would be ironic if they were born in February.

"Well…look at the irony in that: we painted their room the same color as their birth stone."

Itachi looked at both of his daughters, not believing that they were a part of him…he helped…create them. They were his and nothing could change that; he placed a kiss on Shikamaru's temple, silently thanking him for giving him the 2 most beautiful and precious girls he's ever seen in his life.

**ItachiXShikamaru**

"They're tiny." Deidara observed when they brought Eli and Amaranth back to the Akatsuki base.

"They're babies, Deidara; of course they're going to be small." Shikamaru smiled as the blonde looked down at Eli, making an 'aw' sound.

"They're identical, I'm assuming." Kisame said as he looked down at Amaranth in Itachi's arms.

"Yeah, it's a little strange…they're like…female clones of me." Itachi said, laughing lightly along with the others.

"I bet you were in serious pain." Zetsu said to Shikamaru who gave him an 'Oh my God, don't bring that up ever again' look.

"You have no idea…it felt like I was being split in half."

They heard a sound like a cross between a coo and a yawn. Itachi smiled down at Amaranth as she opened her mouth wide, releasing the sound. Shikamaru yawned as well, prompting Itachi to make him go to bed.

"Come on, Love, you're tired."

"I'm going to be tired for the next 10 years."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

**I really like the names Eli and Amaranth. I wanted to use Emorie, but I wanted their names to have a nice meaning behind them and Emorie sounds too American anyway.**

**Reviews please!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	10. Decision of a Lifetime

**Dearest Readers,**

**Once again…another time lapse. From what I'm planning, this will be the last major time lapse in this story…joy!**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Decision of a Lifetime**

They looked down at the girls in the crib after finally being able to put them to sleep, worry etched in both of their features. They winced slightly as Amaranth released another wet cough, this one sounding worse than the ones she's had earlier that day. Itachi grabbed a tissue from the box on the table next to the crib and wiped the blood off of Amaranth's chin.

They saw what the doctor was talking about with Amaranth's legs and inability to balance herself about a year ago. Even though both Eli and Amaranth are able to talk using simple words, Amaranth can't walk but Eli is able to run. It was recommended that they put braces on Amaranth's legs when Eli started walking, but Amaranth can't walk without someone holding her up because she'll fall over.

However, they loved holding her hands above her head and slowly allowing her to walk, the smile on her face was priceless as she started to feel more like her sister. On Eli and Amaranth's first birthday, something unexpected and unexplainable happened to Amaranth: her eyes changed from dark ebony to dark crimson of the Sharingan. Even with all the knowledge that he has of his own clan, how Amaranth was able to activate her Sharingan without meaning to confused him. Not only that, but her eyes won't change back to their original color. But why would Amaranth's eyes do that?

But now there was a new, more worrisome problem: the cough. They knew that parents worry about their kids constantly and overreact at every little thing imaginable, but this was serious even though neither of them had a lot of medical knowledge.

"She needs to go to the doctor." Itachi said quietly, closing the twin's bedroom door behind him. Shikamaru sighed deeply, not understanding why Amaranth was having these medical problems.

"Yeah, I'll…I'll make an appointment with him tomorrow." He started to walk away, but Itachi grabbed his hand and pulled him back towards him. Wrapping his arms around his slim waist, he rested his chin on top of his head.

"We'll figure out what's wrong, Love. And once we know what's wrong, we'll do everything we can to fix it, alright?" Shikamaru sniffed into Itachi's chest, arms wrapped around his neck.

"Okay…I hope it's not as serious as its sounding."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

"Alright Miss Amaranth, what's going on?" The doctor asked nicely at her as Shikamaru lightly bounced her on his lap.

"This feels bad," She pointed at her chest, "and this hurts too." She pointed at her throat. The doctor smiled and then looked at Shikamaru.

"So a sore chest and throat, right?"

"She's had a really bad wet cough for a while…and she's been coughing up some blood." The doctor's eyebrow rose slightly.

"How long is a while?"

"About three weeks, maybe a little bit longer." The doctor nodded thoughtfully and looked at Amaranth again.

"Alright Missy, come on over here. Let's take a look inside of you."

"That can see inside of me?" She asked incredulously, staring at a machine as Shikamaru led her towards the x-ray machine.

"It sure can, now I need you to take your shirt and braces off for me."

She sat in the machine, shivering slightly because of chills. Shikamaru stood next to the doctor, not understanding what the screen was showing him. The doctor sighed as he looked at the screen, making Shikamaru's panic rise.

"What's wrong?" The doctor pointed to a lightish-gray spot near the top of Amaranth's chest.

"That's the problem."

"What is it?" The doctor hesitated, knowing that he wasn't going to take it well. "You're going to have to tell me anyway."

"It's Tuberculosis, by the looks of it." Shikamaru froze, becoming dead to the world. He knew of that disease and he also knew what it could do to a person who has it. He looked at Amaranth, knowing that she had no idea about the severity of her medical situation.

"W-what do we do from here?"

"Well, TB can be somewhat cured in a minimum of 6 months with antibiotics. However, Amaranth is…about…2 now?"

"2 and a half." Shikamaru corrected.

"She's young…very young…and TB takes 6 months to 2 years to cure and even then, there's the possibility of it returning."

"What's your point?"

"Since TB is a potentially deadly disease…and because she's so young, it's going to be more severe because of her age. Plus with the fact that it'll take at least 6 months for the treatment to take affect—"

"You're saying that we shouldn't do anything." Shikamaru growled, glaring at him.

"Now I didn't say that. I'm just warning you to not get your hopes up of this passing." Shikamaru felt his body freeze again. _She…she can…die…that quickly?_

"TB treatment is expensive, Shikamaru, trust me. I'm not saying that you shouldn't go through with treatment, I'm just saying that you shouldn't get your hopes up too high because at her age, TB will be more deadly."

"Mama, I'm cold." Amaranth's soft voice broke through their conversation and he smiled forcedly at her.

"Alright, Boo, put your shirt back on and I'll put on your braces."

"Shikamaru, I'm not telling you to not do anything. I'm just saying to…give it a lot of thought before you put her through treatment."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

Once he led Amaranth to her and Eli's room where Itachi was helping Eli draw…something, he motioned for Itachi to follow him. When he saw the glassy look in his eyes and the look of misery on his face, he knew that it was much more severe than they originally thought.

"What's wrong?" Shikamaru threw himself into his arms, trying to keep his sobs quiet so that the girls didn't hear him. He held Shikamaru close to him, feeling himself begin to panic. Itachi gave him time to calm down before trying to talk to him.

"S-she has TB." Shikamaru sobbed quietly into the crook of his neck, hoping that the girls didn't hear them. Itachi felt as though someone punched him in the stomach, leaving him winded. He heard of Tuberculosis and one thing stuck out in his mind: it was deadly.

"What did he say we should do from here?" Shikamaru looked up at him, his eyes red and glassy.

"He said that because she's so young, it'll be more deadly…and since treatment takes about 6 months to take affect…he thinks that she w-won't make it to then." Itachi didn't know how to react to that: a doctor told them that they're daughter was dying and that there were possible treatments…but they wouldn't work in time.

He pulled Shikamaru close to him, burying his face against his neck. He's never felt this much despair and helplessness in his life. Their daughter was dying and there was nothing he could do to save her in time.

**ItachiXShikamaru**

"And there's nothing that can be done?" Deidara asked carefully, not knowing whether or not his question would make Itachi attack him.

"There is a treatment plan for TB, but because TB is more severe in children, if we did put Amaranth through treatment…it wouldn't work in time anyway." Itachi said quietly, hating himself for being so vulnerable in front of them.

Deidara looked at Kisame who was just as lost as he was about what to do with this situation. What could they do? Nothing…just…let time takes its course. He sighed, looking down at the brown rug he was standing on. Itachi and Shikamaru were slowly losing one of their daughters and no one could do anything about it…no one.

A thoughtful expression came over Deidara's face as he began to think hard, a possible idea forming in his head. His eyes darted up at Itachi who was sitting on the window sill, looking out into the woods. _He may not like the idea…but I think he would rather do what I'm thinking of than to lose his kid._

"Hey…Itachi?" He asked tentatively, receiving a small grunt of recognition. "I think…there may be a way…to cure Amaranth." Itachi slowly turned towards him, his dark eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You better not be making anything up." He hissed darkly, glaring at him.

"I'm not, Itachi, I swear. I wouldn't mess around with something like this."

"What are you thinking then?" Deidara hesitated.

"You've…you've heard that the Leaf Village has a new Hokage now…right?" Kisame held his breath at the mention of Itachi's former village.

"I have heard of that, yes."

"H-her name's Tsunade…one of the Three Legendary Sannin…she uh…she's said to be an expert in uh…healing."

Itachi eyed him carefully, absorbing what he just said. This woman, Tsunade, is one of the Three Legendary Sannin…an expert with healing. Only problem is: she's the Hokage of the village he turned his back on…same with Shikamaru. He and Shikamaru can't walk right back into the village, expect her to heal Amaranth, and then walk right back out. That's not going to happen and they all knew that. But this woman can make Amaranth healthy…allow her to live.

There were really only two problems with this idea: One, how were they going to get Tsunade to heal Amaranth? Two, how were they going to get out of the village? Even though he hated the idea of it…they would have to give something in return to the village for Tsunade giving them their daughter's health. He sighed, considering this idea carefully. He always remembered Shikamaru saying that he wanted to visit the village someday…maybe that day is very near.

**ItachiXShikamaru**

"Help me." Itachi said with a pleading look in his eyes as he sat on the floor on Eli and Amaranth's bedroom…his arms being bombarded with glitter pens and Hello Kitty band-aids.

"Girls, are you decorating Papa?" Shikamaru asked, trying to hide the laughter from his voice as he sat down in front of Itachi.

"No, Mama," Eli said as she drew a glittery smiley face on Itachi's left bicep. "We're making him feel better!"

"Feel better? Was Papa feeling bad earlier?"

"Papa was sad, so we're making him better!" Amaranth chimed in, sticking another Hello Kitty band-aid on Itachi's right forearm.

"I am feeling much better now, Girls. You two are wonderful doctors." Itachi said, making Eli and Amaranth smile widely at him. Eli stood up gingerly and ran across the room for her sketchbook and brought it back to where they were. She flopped back down, opened it, and began to scribble in it with a blue crayon.

"Here you go, Papa." She said, ripping the piece of paper out of the book and handing it to him.

"What is it, Moo?" He asked, looking down at the blue scribbles.

"It's what you have to do to keep yourself feeling better!"

"And what exactly do I have to do?"

"Oh, Papa, you're silly. See," She pointed to one blue scribble. "You have to come back to us everyday until your Blueness goes away."

"What's Blueness?" Shikamaru butted in, smiling lightly at Itachi.

"Uncle Deidara said that Blueness is the color that the inside of a person is when they're sad." Amaranth said, drawing the last smiley face on the inside of Itachi's elbow. Shikamaru and Itachi shook their heads and laughed lightly. _Of course Deidara would tell them something like that._

"Alright Drs. Eli and Amaranth, I'll keep coming back. But until then, you two need to take a nap." They both groaned as Itachi and Shikamaru picked them up and placed them in the crib, looking down at them.

"Here are the rules:" Itachi started, his voice becoming serious. "No wild parties, no random boys in the crib, no beating each other up, and—"

"No coming up with ways to make Mama cry." Eli and Amaranth said at the same time, making Itachi smile.

"Look at what you're teaching them." Shikamaru said, slapping his arm lightly as he led the way out of the room after kissing the girls on the forehead.

"You'll thank me later." Itachi said, closing the door behind him. He gently grabbed Shikamaru's elbow, bringing him back towards him; placing his hands on his hips. Shikamaru looked curiously up at him, his eyes sparkling slightly in the dim light.

"There might be a way to cure Amaranth." Itachi said quietly. Shikamaru's eyes went wide, now looking at him with anticipation.

"How?" Itachi bit his lower lip gently.

"Tsunade's an expert at healing…right?"

The pieces started to click in his mind: if they take Amaranth to the Leaf Village, Tsunade can heal her. But…both of them turned away from the village long ago…chances are, she's not going to do anything for them no matter how much they asked her. Knowing Itachi, it wouldn't be hard to get into the village…it's getting Amaranth healed then out of the village that'll cause problems.

His mind shifted to the blonde Hokage: she's not going to give them anything…especially without getting something in return. He cased his eyes downward, thinking of his former friends and mentors…surely they'll run into them if they decide to go back to the village. _It's not a question of 'if' we're going…it's 'when'._

"What should we do from here?" He asked quietly, looking back up at Itachi. The Uchiha placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Looks like Eli and Amaranth are going on their first trip."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

"Are we going to kick butt and take names while we're there?" Deidara asked as he and Kisame sat across the small table from Itachi and Shikamaru.

"No, Deidara, we're going to be as peaceful as possible. However, knowing the people there…we most likely won't be leaving without a fight." Shikamaru said, stirring his tea absentmindedly.

"We're going to face confrontation, no matter which way you look at. Not just because all 4 of us are rogue ninja, but also because Shikamaru and I left…mind you, people hate me much more than they hate you, I'd imagine." Itachi said, glancing at Shikamaru.

"I know one person in the Leaf Village who hates you in particular." Shikamaru said, giving him a pointed look over the rim of his tea cup.

"We will encounter Sasuke and the others you were with no matter how we enter the village. However," He hesitated momentarily. "You said at one point that you wanted to see all of them again." Shikamaru choked on his tea.

"Yeah, I did, but not when I'm near you and Sasuke. If I know him well enough, he's going to try to kill you."

"You are right…he will. However, that should not be a worry to you. Leave Sasuke to me…I'll make sure he doesn't do anything that'll bring harm to you and the girls." _There's his protectiveness. _Deidara and Kisame thought at the same time.

"But how are we going to persuade Tsunade to heal Amaranth? She's not going to do anything for us…she's a very stubborn…and angry woman."

"That shouldn't be an issue." Zetsu said from the doorway, making them look at him.

"What does that mean?" Shikamaru asked as Zetsu sat next to him.

"It is the Hokage's job to protect their village, correct?"

"Yeah." Shikamaru said slowly, looking cautiously at him. Zetsu leaned back on his hands, looking up at the ceiling.

"Well, you can tell her that Orochimaru is near the end of a plan to invade the Leaf Village again."

"Is he now?" Itachi asked quietly, feeling his blood boil at Orochimaru's name.

"Oh yes, so how can Lady Tsunade keep her village safe if she doesn't know that an attack is in the works?" They thought about this for a moment, thinking through it carefully.

"She might not believe us." Shikamaru said finally, looking over at Zetsu.

"True, however, she was quite fond of you at one point I would imagine." Shikamaru nodded, looking away.

"Yeah, I guess she was. She always had me make new defenses for the village and—"

"Stop right there, Child." Zetsu interrupted, Itachi seeing what he was getting at.

"Very clever, Zetsu." Itachi said calmly, trying to rub some of the glitter off of his arms.

"What is he talking about then?" Shikamaru asked, looking between Itachi and Zetsu.

"Child, you know the village's defenses…quite well since you created most of them. They may have put new ones into place, but if she wanted you to make them…the village's defenses probably haven't changed since you left. What I'm saying, Child, is that you could threaten to tell rival villages…and Orochimaru if we come across him, about the Leaf Village's defenses and the secrets of the village if she doesn't heal Amaranth." Shikamaru thought about this for a moment…he had a point…and Amaranth was getting worse. "Plus with Orochimaru almost done with planning another invasion…that information is vital." Shikamaru looked over at Itachi who was watching him steadily.

"Will it…will it be safe for the girls to travel?"

"Munchkin, there's going to be you, me, Itachi, and Kisame…trust me, they'll be the two most protected and safest girls on the face of the Earth." Deidara butted in, pulling out split-ends from his hair.

"They'll be fine, Love. It'll be an adventure for them. They'll get to see different surroundings, even though that may be a bit of a shock, and they'll get to see their biological uncle."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

**Alright Gang, I'm not good at fight scenes or anything along those lines. ^^; **

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	11. Taste of the New Life

**Dearest Readers,**

***NOTE* This chapter is based pretty strongly around episode 81 (English). By that, I mean the setting and such. ^_^**

***There's one part in here that might sound a little bit wrong, I'm sure you'll see what I'm talking about.**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Taste of the New Life**

"Are you sure it will be safe for the girls to travel? Especially Amaranth?" Shikamaru asked quietly as he straddled Itachi's waist, placing his hands on the Uchiha's bare abdomen. Itachi ran his hands up to Shikamaru's hips, gripping them gently.

"I'm sure, Love. It will be good for them to be in a large village; it will be a shock for them, but they will enjoy it." Itachi said, pulling Shikamaru down to him. Their breaths lingered between them as they stared deeply at each other.

"How do you think…they…will react?" Shikamaru asked tentatively, causing Itachi to brush hair out of his face.

"Do not worry about that, Love. No matter how they react to seeing you—"

"And you." Shikamaru added, smiling down at him.

"And me," Itachi said, returning the smile. "You and the girls will not be harmed because I will not allow it." His eyes darkened as he thought of Sasuke, knowing that his younger brother would definitely attack at him when he gets the chance.

"You're thinking of Sasuke." It wasn't a question and Itachi knew it.

"Yes, Love. Even though I am aware that your former mentors will be there…it is Sasuke that I am worried about the most. If I know him well enough, and I do, he will attack me…possibly you as well."

"Just as long he doesn't hurt Eli and Amaranth, I don't mind." Shikamaru said, placing a light kiss on Itachi's lips. He saw a mischievous gleam spark in the Uchiha's eyes and let out a yelp of surprise when he found himself pinned underneath Itachi who kissed him possessively.

**ItachiXShikamaru**

"I'm very excited, Papa!" Eli cried happily, as Itachi adjusted the traditional Japanese hat on her head, making sure that it wouldn't fall off.

"I'm excited as well, Moo now hold still." He clipped the button on the black cloak just beneath her chin, making sure he didn't clip her skin. He helped her put on her Hello Kitty backpack, the look of it contrasting greatly with the darkness of the cloak she wore.

They had opted to return to their traditional black cloaks with red clouds for the time being. Even though they would stick out of the crowd a little bit, their identities would be hidden. Shikamaru had adjusted one for himself and the girls…now he was actually able to see over the collar.

"Alright Boo, chin up." Shikamaru said, clipping the button beneath Amaranth's chin and adjusted her hat also. He tightened the straps on her Hello Kitty backpack that matched Eli's, making sure that it wouldn't slip off. She let out a wet cough, drawing everyone's attention.

"Mama, I don't feel good." She whined as Shikamaru picked her up and placed her on his hip.

"Don't worry, Boo, we're taking you to a place where someone will make you feel better…plus the place is really pretty."

"It is?" Eli asked excitedly as Itachi lifted her off the ground and placed her on his hip as well.

"Oh yes, it is really big and there's lots of people." Itachi added as they turned to the direction they would be heading.

"Are they nice?" Itachi smiled down at her.

"Usually."

**ItachiXShikamaru**

"Sakura, if I were to keel over from heat exhaustion, would you catch me?" Naruto whined as they made their way to meet everyone at the new teahouse that opened a few weeks ago.

"No, Naruto, and stop being such a teenager."

"I'm not acting like a teenager! We're not too much older than teenagers anyway! You make us sound like senior citizens!"

"All of us are 23…_23 _Naruto! I'm surprised that I've kept my sanity from being around you for so many years."

Sasuke scowled deeply: he was 23 years old and he _still _hasn't gone out to find Itachi. His hatred and anger towards his brother still burned fiercely, but he was also angry at himself for not leaving the village yet. _If I know him well enough, he's definitely not going to come back here. But I can go to him…only problem is: I have no idea where he could be hiding._

"It's about time you guys got here!" Ino shouted as she saw Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke walk towards them.

"Naruto was slowly us down." Sakura said, glaring at Naruto as they sat with their friends and senseis.

"I was not! Any sane person can tell it's hot as Hell today!" Naruto said defensively. Kakashi leaned towards Asuma slightly.

"See them over there?" He muttered quietly, nodding slightly towards 4 adults in black cloaks with red clouds wearing a traditional Japanese hat and 2 children dressed the same way.

"Yeah…they don't seem like they're from this village." Asuma said quietly, gently tapping Kurenai next to him and indicated who they were talking about.

"Whoever they are…something's off about them. Judging by their demeanor…they're stronger; definitely not people someone should mess with, but they didn't come here without a reason." Kakashi whispered back to him, Gai now joining the observation.

"They're most likely part of some kind of group." Gai said, observing the ring on their finger, assuming that they all had the same symbol on them.

"What kind of group?" Kurenai asked, her eyes brushing over them.

"I'm not sure, but they're dressed the same way and they're all wearing some kind of ring…something joins them somehow." They turned back towards their students.

"Guys," Kakashi said quietly, interrupting their cheerful conversation. Their faces became serious when they saw the way their senseis were looking at them.

"Yeah, Kakashi-Sensei?" Naruto asked, determination set in his features.

"There are 6 suspicious people here: they're in black cloaks with red clouds. Four of them are adults and two of them are children, however, the children shouldn't be a problem. When they leave, we'll leave and follow their movements, got it? They're not here without a reason." Deidara chuckled quietly.

"The silver-haired one…what's his name?"

"Kakashi Hatake." Shikamaru said softly, glad that his back was turned to them.

"A former sensei of yours?"

"Something like that."

"He's good; I'll give him credit for that. So they're the ones we will encounter eventually?"

"Very soon, by the sounds of it." Itachi said, wiping the milk off of the side of Amaranth's mouth.

"Mama, that girl has weird hair." Eli said incredulously as she looked at Sakura.

"Yeah, she's pretty isn't she?" Eli nodded.

"Can I go say 'hi'?" Shikamaru smiled down at her.

"No, we don't talk to strangers."

"Oh...well, she seems nice anyway."

"I'm sure she is." Itachi stood and placed Amaranth on his hip.

"Let's get moving. Since we're going to face confrontation, we need to be in a place that's usually peaceful."

"They're leaving." Kakashi said, watching them walk out of the teahouse. They stood and exited, Kakashi looked over his shoulder at the students.

"Whatever happens, don't put yourself in any kind of dangerous situation. Is that clear?" They nodded, including Sasuke, and they followed their senseis after the unknown visitors of the village.

**ItachiXShikamaru**

They walked in silence, each member of Akatsuki putting on the mask that their reputation was based on. Shikamaru's heart was pounding rapidly in his chest. After about 5 years of being away from this village, he didn't know what kind of changes to expect from his former friends and senseis. _If they changed at all. _He didn't know how he was going to react to their presence or how they were going to react to his…and Itachi's.

"You guys aren't from this village, are you?" Asuma asked as he, the other senseis, and their students stood in front of them. Shikamaru felt his heart stop at the sight of his former sensei. _Asuma-Sensei…still smoking cancer sticks. _He smiled lightly behind his collar as he eyes drifted to the others. They all have changed in a physical way and his eyes darted between Ino and Choji. _They've grown…and changed. _None of the Akatsuki members answered.

"Playing the Quiet Game, huh?" Akatsuki still remained silent.

Itachi's eyes wondered to Sasuke, who was standing next to Kakashi, glaring at them. He was honestly surprised at how much his brother had grown; he hadn't heard him speak yet, but he imagined that his voice was much deeper.

"We're not letting you go anywhere, you do understand that right?" Asuma said, as he and the others were becoming agitated by their silence. Kisame grabbed the handle of his sword and slammed the tip into the ground.

"He's getting on my nerves." He hissed as he glared at Asuma from beneath his hat. Deidara started to pull the split-ends from his hair, a somewhat bored expression on his face.

"Same here, Kisame, but Munchkin said that we have to be peaceful. As tempting as killing them may be, we can't." Deidara said, not taking his eyes away from his hair.

"Kill us, huh?" Naruto said, pushing himself in front of the senseis, glaring angrily at Deidara. "I'd like to see you try. Four against 15: you're not in the position to say that you'll be able to kill all 15 of us." He growled as Kakashi grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back roughly.

"Have you learned nothing over the years that you've been under our guidance? One of the many things you should have learned is to not taunt your opponent." Kakashi said calmly, but with a slight edge as his eyes moved from one Akatsuki member to the next.

"But Kakashi-Sensei, you—"

"Naruto, shut up, this is not the time for you to be a complete idiot." Sasuke hissed venomously, his dark eyes roaming over the people opposite them. The blonde turned to look at Sasuke angrily, fists clenched. Meanwhile, Shikamaru took Eli and Amaranth to the grass to the right of them, putting them out of harm's way. He rolled his eyes when he heard Naruto growl as he walked over to stand between Itachi and Deidara again.

"I retract my previous statement," Deidara said as he stared, annoyed, at Naruto. "The kid is more annoying." Naruto whirled his attention back to him, taking a step forward.

"What the hell do you think you are?" He yelled, making Deidara snap. He ripped off his cloak and threw it behind him along with his hat as he glared angrily at the blonde boy in front of him.

"Who the hell am I, Brat? The name's Deidara: former terrorist bomber for multiple villages and an S-Ranked missing-nin. Challenge me, Brat, and I'll make sure you'll regret it." He growled, brushing his bangs out of his face, revealing the mouth on his palm and his scope.

"'Former' terrorist bomber?" Naruto asked, trying to hide the confusion and newly found fear in his voice.

"Since I joined this organization, I have not worked with any village." Deidara said shortly, not breaking eye contact with him.

"And what organization would that be?" Kakashi asked, staring steadily at the blonde man. None of the members spoke for a moment.

"Should we tell them cause I'm all for it." Deidara said, still staring at Naruto, starting to make him feel intimidated.

"Akatsuki." Itachi said quietly, his voice barely audible. The senseis' eyes went wide as their students looked confusedly at them. _Akatsuki? What would they being doing here? Especially 4 of them…I thought they usually traveled in pairs, not groups of 4. And why do they have 2 children with them?_

"What's Akatsuki?" Sakura asked, noticing their senseis' change in demeanor. _It's too risky to have the students here; they could get seriously hurt…or killed. _Kakashi thought as he tried to think of a way for them to get away without a member of Akatsuki getting to them.

"We are all S-Ranked missing-nin and the most wanted Shinobi. We're the real deal, Sweetheart." Kisame said, grinning from beneath his hat.

"Well…with the exception of Munchkin." Deidara said, looking over at Shikamaru who had his face lowered, making sure that no one could see it.

"Yeah, I'm the outsider of the organization. I'm not as badass or dangerous as everyone else. Maybe I should massacre a whole village to gain your statuses." Shikamaru said, chuckling lightly.

"You may not be as badass as we are, but that little gift of yours is very dangerous." Deidara said, looking down at him. _Little gift?_

"So all members of Akatsuki are the most wanted Shinobi…ever?" Sakura asked uncertainly, knowing that she wasn't the only one feeling fear and intimidation just by being in their presence.

"Right, Pinky." Deidara said, igniting Sakura's fiery temper. She shoved her way through Kurenai and Asuma and stood next to Naruto, both of them giving the Akatsuki members deep glares.

"Uh oh, looks like you hit a nerve, Deidara." Kisame said as he looked at Sakura. Naruto growled again. _I don't care if these guys are S-Ranked missing-nin! Just because they're the most wanted Shinobi, doesn't mean that they can come to our village and degrade everyone they come across! _

"That's it! I've had enough of you guys!"

"Naruto! Don't do anything stupid!" Kakashi shouted, pulling him back again. Naruto struggled against his sensei's hold as Sakura turned back to Deidara who was staring at her evenly.

"Why are you guys here?" Naruto stopped struggling to hear their response.

"We are looking for a certain…someone." Itachi said quietly, his dark eyes brushing over them again.

"And who is this someone?" Asuma asked as Shikamaru reached underneath his hat and brushed his bangs out of his eyes.

"We will not disclose that to you." Itachi said, again in a quiet tone. They felt frustration rise in them. They were looking for someone, but they won't tell them who. Whoever this person is, they're in danger and they needed to act quickly.

"Well if you won't tell us who this someone is, then we'll just have to prevent you from leaving here." Asuma said as he, Kakashi, Kurenai, and Gai prepared to attack. Their students felt themselves tense as they realized that they've never been in a fight with people like the Akatsuki before. Sasuke and Naruto, however, were full of anticipation. Kisame removed his hat and tossed it aside and smirked at Kurenai in front of him.

"Naruto, Sakura, get behind us." Kakashi said, staring at the Akatsuki member in front of him, not realizing it was Itachi.

"But—"

"Naruto, don't argue." Sakura said and dragged him behind their sensei. Shikamaru smirked at the small trace of irony: he was going to fight his sensei and Asuma had no idea.

"You must be the youngest," Asuma said staring at Shikamaru, "You've only said one thing so far…who are you? There's Deidara," His eyes darted to the blonde, "and Kisame." His eyes darted to him.

"We don't know who he is either." Kakashi said, nodding at Itachi. The Uchiha reached up and slowly removed his hat, tossing it behind him. Their bodies froze and Sasuke glared angrily at his brother. _He's here…after so many years, he's come back. Didn't think he would be stupid enough to do so._

"Hello Sasuke." Itachi said softly, looking calmly at his younger brother who clenched his teeth and fists. Itachi was unfazed by Sasuke's evident anger as he unclipped the buttons of his cloak and tossed it aside.

"Itachi." He hissed, venom dripping from his voice.

"I told you he was still pissed at you." Shikamaru said, turning towards him.

"And how would you know?" Sasuke barked at him, taking a few steps forward. Shikamaru turned his eyes to him, his face still concealed by his hat.

"You don't need to know how I obtained that piece of knowledge." He said coolly, smirking at Sasuke's irritated growl.

"It doesn't matter how you know that I'm angry at Itachi, I'm going to kill you both anyway."

"Sasuke, stay back. I know you want to attack them, but be smart." Asuma turned to Shikamaru. "Alright, we know Itachi, Deidara, and Kisame…so who are you?" Shikamaru smirked as he stared at his former sensei.

"Must you ask me such a question?" He asked quietly, reaching up to remove his hat.

"Who are you?" Shikamaru chuckled.

"Have you truly forgotten me, Asuma-Sensei?" He asked as he tossed his hat behind him along with his cloak.

Asuma felt his heart clench at the sight of his former student. After giving up hope of finding him such a long time ago…he was here. Ino and Choji pushed their way to the front of the group, staring at their ex-teammate. _That can't…be Shikamaru. _The Nara stood with the majority of his weight on his left leg as he crossed his hands behind his head, smirking at their response to see him.

They didn't know how to feel or react to seeing Shikamaru in front of them. He was no longer the person they once knew…and loved. His darkened and confident demeanor seemed foreign for them to see on him. His slender figure was outlined in black clothes that showed his midriff and upper back and his dark hair brushed just below his jaw line. Shikamaru stretched his arms above him before placing them on his hips, making eye contact with his former sensei.

"You never answered my question, Asuma-Sensei: have you truly forgotten me?" He asked, his voice soft and challenging.

"No, Shikamaru, we haven't forgotten about you." Ino said, taking a step forward. "We…we looked for you. We…w-we missed you."

"Well isn't that sweet? You guys missed me."

"What happened to you, Shikamaru?" Asuma asked, grabbing Shikamaru's attention.

"What do you mean 'what happened' to me? You make it sound as though something bad has happened."

"Shikamaru!" Naruto yelled, pushing his way to the front of the group again. "Look at yourself! You're part of an organization of murderers and traitors! They brainwashed you to believe that what they do is right! Shika—"

"I joined voluntarily." Shikamaru interrupted, staring evenly at him. _He…he joined voluntarily? Why? _Their eyes landed on his headband that was tied around his leg, seeing the line carved into it.

"You betrayed the village." Ino whispered, her eyes becoming wet and anger rising within her.

"Mama," Eli called from her place on the grass, grabbing Shikamaru's attention.

"Yeah Moo?" They stared incredulously at him. _'Mama'? Shikamaru's a…what?_

"Amaranth and I are hot."

"Alright, you can take off your hat and cloak but don't get your dresses dirty." The girls threw off their hats and cloaks and Eli flopped down on her discarded cloak, her white and pink dress brushing her knees.

"Eli, help your sister." Shikamaru said, seeing that Amaranth was having trouble rolling onto her cloak. Eli stood and helped roll her on top of it, making sure that her white and purple dress was pulled down. Once Amaranth was able to sit up, they both continued their drawings.

Sasuke and the others watched the girls draw on the grass. _They're identical. _Sasuke thought as he looked at their midnight black hair that brushed their jaws and their small figures. He saw one of the girls had dark black eyes, but he couldn't see the other's face.He saw that the other girl was wearing leg braces, causing her to sit with her legs straight. _She must have a leg deformity._

"I did not betray the village, Ino." Shikamaru said, drawing their attention back to him.

"Yes you—"

"No…I left, but I did not betray anyone or anything." Eli came running towards Shikamaru and held up a piece of paper to him.

"Look Mama, I drew you and Papa!" Shikamaru smiled down at her drawing, seeing him and Itachi holding hands and smiling.

"That's very good, Eli." He said, kneeling down to be at her eye level. "Can you do me a huge favor?" He asked dramatically.

"What?"

"Can you draw you and your sister?" Eli's face shone brightly.

"Of course I can!" She began to run back to the grass.

"And a chicken." Itachi said after her, making her stop and look at him.

"Oh Papa, you're silly." She said before making it back to the grass. _'Papa'? Itachi and…Shikamaru are…parents? _Sasuke thought in disbelief as he glared at his older brother who was looking fondly at his children.

"Why did she make you taller than me?" He asked, looking down at his lover who smiled up at him.

"Maybe because she thinks I'm more domineering than you." Shikamaru said, smiling sweetly.

"You are not more domineering than I am." Shikamaru let out a snort of laughter.

"Says the guy who couldn't get glitter off of his arms for a week." Deidara and Kisame chuckled quietly.

"I remember that: you were pissed." Deidara said, his blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight.

"In my defense…it was glitter glue. Get off me." Itachi said flatly, making Shikamaru's smile widen.

"Wait," Naruto said, his anger disappearing as he bright blue eyes darted between Shikamaru and Itachi. "Those kids…are yours?" He asked uncertainly.

"Yes Naruto, Eli and Amaranth are our kids. I haven't been killing people…in cold-blood; I've actually brought two to life."

"Wait a minute," Sasuke said quietly, his dark eyes still on his brother. "If they're _your _kids as well…" He said slowly as Itachi looked at him. "Then that means…"

"They have Uchiha blood, yes." Itachi finished for him, everyone's attention on him. Sasuke made eye contact with him, not understanding why his brother would have kids since he knew that he would pass down their bloodline.

"What's wrong with her?" Sasuke asked, nodding towards Amaranth who continued to draw, completely oblivious to their conversation. Itachi narrowed his eyes at Sasuke, activating his Sharingan. Sasuke smirked as he activated his as well, knowing that he had hit a nerve. He took a couple steps towards his brother, feeling eyes stare at him from behind.

"Deidara…Kisame," Shikamaru said in a deathly whisper, "Make sure Eli and Amaranth don't get hurt." They nodded and went to the girls, placing themselves in front of them.

"Did I hit a nerve?" Sasuke asked his smirk widening. Itachi's face was emotionless, but his eyes held an intense amount of anger. One of his daughters, one of his children, had been insulted by his own brother.

"I didn't think that you'd be able to get knocked up, Shikamaru." Sasuke said, directing his eyes at the Nara. _Oh shit…insulting one of the girls is one thing…insulting Munchkin is something else…insulting them both…Sasuke's going to die a very slow and painful death._

Itachi felt his anger reach its peak: Shikamaru, Eli, and Amaranth were his whole world…they were the only people in this world that he cares about. He cared about Sasuke, but he is more than willing to kill him now after what he's said about his family.

"Sasuke, you may insult me all you wish to, but you will not do the same to Shikamaru, Eli, or Amaranth." Itachi said coolly, feeling anger radiate from his lover.

"It doesn't matter who I insult…none of you will be around to hear it when I'm through with you!" Sasuke shouted, lunging towards Itachi, Chidori crackling.

Itachi effortlessly brushed it aside, grabbing his wrist with his right hand and grabbing his hair with his left. _He…he brushed off Sasuke's attack like it was nothing. How? _Naruto thought as he stared at his teammate. Kakashi knew that he and the others should do something, but knowing Sasuke…he'll shout at them to let him handle it.

"Little Brother, while I am glad to see that you have learned to use Chidori, there is one thing that you have not learned to use." Itachi said calmly, tightening his grip on his wrist.

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Common sense." Itachi jammed his knee into Sasuke's elbow, causing a sickening crack to penetrate the air along with Sasuke's screams of pain.

Naruto ran forward and knelt next to Sasuke, seeing that his elbow joint was completely broken in half and pouring blood onto the pavement. He turned his blue eyes up to Itachi, glaring at him.

"Papa, why is he crying?" Eli asked as she hung on Kisame's back, looking over his shoulder with wide eyes.

"He wasn't being very nice, Eli. He was very mean to Mama and Amaranth." Eli's eyes narrowed and she pushed passed Kisame and off the ledge towards Sasuke on the ground. She looked down at him angrily, her white and pink checkered dress blowing around her knees.

"You were a meanie-head to my Mama and sister. You're not nice." She said and kicked Sasuke in the shin and walked to Itachi and wrapped her arms around his right leg, laying her head against him.

"Hey, look at you Kiddo." Deidara said brightly, looking over his shoulder at Amaranth who was crawling up him to look over his shoulder. They saw her small hand appear on top of his shoulder, grip his shirt, and pull herself up, resting her chin on him and smiling at her parents.

"You're growing up too much, Boo." Itachi said, smiling proudly at her.

"Eli, look at your sister! Isn't she doing great?" Shikamaru said excitedly, kneeling down so that he could wrap an arm around her and point at Amaranth.

"Good job, Sis!" Eli said brightly, making brief eye contact with her sister.

Amaranth hiccupped and then coughed a mouthful of blood on Deidara's front. Coughs wracked her body as Deidara lifted her from behind him and Itachi took her from him, feeling her shake in his arms. A painful cough went through Amaranth, causing her to spit up another large mouthful of blood onto the pavement. Shikamaru pulled a tissue from his pocket and gave it to Itachi who wiped Amaranth's mouth and face. She laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. _She's sick…very sick by the looks of it. _Kurenai thought, feeling her womanly instincts kick in.

"She's…sick?" Sasuke asked painfully as he managed to push himself into a sitting position with Naruto at his side.

"Brilliant deduction, Sasuke. My God, if we didn't have you around, I don't know what we would do." Shikamaru snapped, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"If you insult her for not only being physically disabled, but having a potentially deadly disease…I will not hesitate to kill you." Itachi said quietly, looking down at Sasuke.

"Potentially deadly disease?" Sakura asked from her place by Kakashi.

"Sasuke," Itachi said softly, ignoring Sakura's question as he walked over and knelt in front of his brother, Amaranth's face buried in his neck. "I did not come here to confront you nor anyone else. Amaranth is very sick and this person we are looking for most likely knows how to treat her in time."

"In time?" Sasuke asked gruffly, glaring at him.

"The normal treatment for her particular disease takes at least 6 months to take effect. Because of her age and the severity of the disease, it's possible that she won't make it that long." Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. He actually heard worry in his brother's voice.

"However," Itachi continued, "Even though Amaranth has medical issues, there is something about her that I'm sure you'll be…interested in." Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"And that would be?" Itachi rubbed Amaranth's back, grabbing her attention.

"Boo," He said softly, receiving a moan in response. "The person who was mean to you wants to say 'sorry', but he can't do that if you don't look at him."

Amaranth raised her head and looked at Sasuke, her Sharingan flashing in the light. Sasuke's body froze in disbelief as he stared at the little girl. _She…she's a toddler and she's already activated her Sharingan? How?_

"H-how?" Sasuke stuttered, not able to break eye contact with Amaranth.

"I am honestly not sure. Her eyes have been that way since her first birthday a year and a half ago."

"She…she's two and a half years old and she's already activated her Sharingan?" Sasuke asked loudly in disbelief, making Kakashi's eyes go wide. _What? A child that young…? No…it's not possible._

"She's activated her Sharingan?" Kakashi asked from behind Itachi who looked back at him and stood, Amaranth locking eyes with the silver-haired man, answering his question.

"Papa, what's a Shar…." She couldn't pronounce the word, but she looked up tiredly at Itachi who smiled at her.

"You are a bit too young to quite understand it yet, but I will tell you about it eventually." Amaranth laid her head back on his shoulder and closed her eyes, dozing off to sleep.

"She needs to go see her." Shikamaru said, making Itachi turn towards him. He silently asked him if he wanted to go to Tsunade with him.

"I'll stay here." Shikamaru said, smiling softly at him, pulling Eli against his leg. Kisame stood and grabbed the handle of his sword.

"I'm going with you, Itachi. You're not going alone." Kisame said roughly as he walked over to him. They turned, but Itachi looked back and made eye contact with Shikamaru. Asuma watched them carefully, feeling the connection they both had. _Itachi Uchiha and Shikamaru Nara…who would've thought? _Itachi smiled softly at his oldest daughter.

"Eli, here are the rules—"

"No wild parties, no random boys, no beating other people up, and no coming up with ways to make Mama cry." Eli recited, smiling brightly at him.

"You've corrupted them, Itachi." Shikamaru said lightly, putting a hand on top of Eli's head.

"You'll thank me later." He turned towards Kakashi. "I know that you do not wish for us to leave, however…Amaranth is sick and needs medical attention immediately. If you wish to come with us, you may, I am not stopping you." _He…he's telling us to go with them? _Kakashi turned to Gai.

"Gai…we'll go with them." Gai nodded and Naruto was about to say something, but Kakashi gave him a look that prevented him from doing so.

"Fair enough; we will be back soon, Love." Itachi said over his shoulder as he, Kisame, Kakashi, and Gai disappeared.

**ItachiXShikamaru**

**Alright Gang, **

**Reviews would be peachy. ^_^**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	12. apology AN

**Dearest Readers,**

**As I'm sure you can tell: I haven't updated any of my stories in a while.**

**I assure you that I am going to finish all of the ones in progress; I have NO intention of discontinuing any of them.**

**I do deeply apologize for not updating in a while, but my education is my highest priority right now.**

**But to all of my cherubs, thank you for staying patient with my slow updates. ^_^ I don't want to sound mushy gushy, but I really appreciate all of your wonderful words…and it's really nice to know that people appreciate the things that I write. I'm always encouraged and relieved to see how many people have viewed my stories in one day and find that at least one person has viewed the stories that I've written thus far.**

**Thank you, Cherubs and I'll update as soon as I can. ^_^**

**~When-Rabbit-Howls**


	13. Rewriting

**Dearest Readers,**

**I know I haven't updated this story in months and I'm sorry.**

**However, I don't like the way this story developed and such so I'm currently in the process of rewriting it. Plot will be the same, but I really don't like how it developed so I just feel the need to rewrite it.**

**I know I'm terrible at updating quickly ^^; Sorry.**

**Please stick with me and I'll have my stories updated eventually.**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


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